Rostropovich Centenary Gala

Carnegie Hall presents a star-studded celebration of legendary cellist, conductor, pianist, and humanitarian Mstislav Rostropovich on what would have been his 100th birthday. This lovingly crafted program features masterworks by Britten, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, each of whom were inspired to write several masterpieces for Rostropovich and were among his closest friends and admirers. Semyon Bychkov, one of today’s leading interpreters of this repertoire, conducts Orchestra of St. Luke’s with pianist Evgeny Kissin—whose storied collaborations with Rostropovich were major early-career highlights—and Rostropovich protégé Maxim Vengerov, who once told TIME magazine that “[Rostropovich is] like my grandfather. He’s my hero. I learned more from him than from any other artist.” Mikhail Baryshnikov—another of Rostropovich’s iconic lifelong friends—narrates Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra for this special occasion.