2007年VOA标准英语-Remembering Mstislav Rostropovich

By John Stevenson
Washington
02 May 2007

Internationally renowned¹ cellist² and conductor, Mstislav Rostropovich, died Friday, April 27 in Moscow at age 80. The great cellist spent much of his life in the United States after he was formally exiled from his native Russia in 1978. VOA's John Stevenson recalls the life of the musician critics called the "Pablo Casals" of his generation.

Matislav Rostropovich

Mstislav Rostropovich was born into a musical family in the then-Soviet³ republic of Azerbaijan in 1927. Young "Slava", as he was called, began playing the piano with his mother at age four. He began studying the cello⁴ with his father at age eight, and music composition at age 11. Rostropovich later studied at the Moscow Conservatory⁵.

The young cellist launched his professional musical career during the summer of 1940, but World War II interrupted his plans. He found himself supporting the war effort by performing in hospitals and before military units. After the war, he returned to studying the cello and performing with chamber⁶ groups in Moscow. As a performer, Rostropovich's fame spread rapidly. He attracted international attention as a soloist⁷ with the Moscow Philharmonic. By 1950, he had won first prize three times in cello competitions in Prague and Budapest. Within five years he made his debut⁸ in New York's Carnegie Hall.

Soon, the Soviets⁹ granted their prize musician the right to perform frequently in the West. Rostropovich played in European capitals and made frequent appearances as a guest artist at the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

In 1968, When Warsaw Pact¹⁰ troops invaded Czechoslovakia, Rostropovich was on tour in London. He played Antonin Dvorak's concerto¹¹ and left the stage in tears.

Two years later, he antagonized soviet officials and jeopardized¹² his career by protesting The Kremlin's treatment of his friend, Nobel Prize author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, whom Rostropovich sheltered in his home outside Moscow. He spoke¹³ against intimidation¹⁴ of artists, and for that, the Soviet government imposed a three-year travel ban on the prominent cellist and his family. When the ban was lifted, in 1974, Rostropovich left for the West.

"I was like a newborn child. I had no money, no home, and I did not know how long I would stay at that time," he said. "I had permission from the Soviet government to live outside of Russia for two years." Rostropovich continued his career in the West, conducting as well as playing the cello. After staying abroad for more than four years, The Kremlin revoked¹⁵ his citizenship¹⁶. By then, he was firmly established as conductor of the Washington National Symphony Orchestra.

The list of composers who have written specifically for the celebrated¹⁷ cellist include Benjamin Britten, Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev, who wrote the "Sinfonia Concertante For Cello, Opus 125."

rehearsal18 of a concert of music at Moscow's Conservatory, 22 Sept 2006" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070604/0921411.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Mstislav Rostropovich conducts The Grand Symphonic Orchestra during a rehearsal of a concert of music at Moscow's Conservatory, 22 Sept 2006

Mstislav Rostropovich often said he felt like an American by birth, because he spent so much time in the U.S. Exile took its toll¹⁹, however. He was unable to attend Shostakovich's funeral in 1975. In a 1997 magazine interview, Rostropovich said, "Russia was in my heart - in my mind. I suffered because I knew that until the day I died, I would never see Russia or my friends again."

In 1989, as the Berlin Wall was being torn down, Rostropovich was there playing Bach cello suites²⁰. A year later, his Russian citizenship was restored, and he returned to his homeland to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra.

When hardline communists attempted to overthrow²¹ then-President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991, Rostropovich rushed to Moscow, spending several days in the Russian parliament protesting the attempted coup²². Later that year, he and his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya established the Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich Foundation seeking to improve health care for children in former Soviet countries.

Among the awards bestowed²³ on Rostropovich were the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and a knighthood conferred on him by Queen Elizabeth II, both in 1987.

After stepping down as the National Symphony's music director in 1994, he was named the Orchestra's Conductor Laureate. He also maintained close ties with the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and other great orchestras. Last year, Rostropovich announced he would stop playing the cello publicly. He maintained a vigorous conducting schedule, however.

Rostropovich was hospitalized in Paris with cancer in January. He made a final return to Moscow, where had been in and out of medical facilities since February, even though he was able to attend his 80th birthday celebration on March 27 where Russian President Vladimir Putin presented him with a medal: the Order of Service to the Fatherland. Rostropovich is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Virtuoso²⁴ cellist and world-renowned conductor Mstislav Rostropovich dead at age 80.

1 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

2 cellist   

n.大提琴手

参考例句：

• The cellist's bowing was very sensitive . 那位大提琴手的弓法十分细腻。 来自辞典例句
• World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded The Silk Road Project in 1998. 世界闻名的大提琴家马友友于1998年创建了丝路工程。 来自互联网

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 cello   

n.大提琴

参考例句：

• The cello is a member of the violin family.大提琴是提琴家族的一员。
• She plays a melodious cello.她拉着一手悦耳的大提琴。

5 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 soloist   

n.独奏者，独唱者

参考例句：

• The soloist brought the house down with encore for his impressive voice.这位独唱家以他那感人的歌声博得全场喝彩。
• The soloist had never performed in London before.那位独唱者过去从未在伦敦演出过。

8 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

9 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

10 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

11 concerto   

n.协奏曲

参考例句：

• The piano concerto was well rendered.钢琴协奏曲演奏得很好。
• The concert ended with a Mozart violin concerto.音乐会在莫扎特的小提琴协奏曲中结束。

12 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

15 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

16 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

17 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

18 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

19 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

20 suites   

n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓

参考例句：

• First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
• All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句

21 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

22 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

23 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

24 virtuoso   

n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手

参考例句：

• He was gaining a reputation as a remarkable virtuoso.作为一位技艺非凡的大师，他声誉日隆。
• His father was a virtuoso horn player who belonged to the court orchestra.他的父亲是宫廷乐队中一个技巧精湛的圆号演奏家。