Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (March 27, 1927 ? April 27, 2007) affectionately known as "Slava," Russian cellist and conductor considered to be one of the greatest cellists ever. He was well known for his interpretations of Dvorak's B minor cello concerto and Haydn's cello concertos in C and D, and for his commissions of new works which have considerably enlarged the cello repertoire (notably by Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Britten, Lutoslawski, Penderecki and Dutilleux).

Rostropovich was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, then part of the Soviet Union. From 1943 to 1948, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where he became professor of cello in 1956.

Rostropovich died on April 27, 2007 in Moscow, Russia after having been hospitalized in February of the same year for intestinal cancer.
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