Slava, Dead at 80
Mstislav Rostropovich died this morning in Moscow. He was 80 and suffered from intestinal cancer. Tim Page has an appreciation here. Updates: Alex Ross, Charles T. Downey, Guardian Tributes, Marc…
Joan Baez sings Sibelius
Yes, you read that right. 2007 brings the fiftieth anniversary of Jean Sibelius’ death, and his tone poem Finlandia was written as a protest against Russian influence in Finland at…
Galina Ustvolskaya, 1919-2006
The Russian composer Galina Ustvoskaya died yesterday. Alex Ross has the details and the (appropriately) terse, German notice from her publisher, Sikorski. I don’t have time now to write much…
Malcolm Arnold, 84
Malcolm Arnold died over the weekend. He was a deeply troubled man who had a remarkably productive life against the odds. He was, in my view, the most underrated symphonist…