Kancheli Simi

(ECM)

Focused, even spare, playing from Rostropovich in this bewitching recording of the mystical Simi, by the Georgian composer Giya Kancheli. 

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Britten Cello Suites Nos 1 & 2

(Decca)

Benjamin Britten was just one of the composers inspired by Rostropovich, and he in turn was supremely well served by the cellist.

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Brahms Cello Sonatas

(DG)

Rostropovich’s rich, resonant tone dominates here, but he complements rather than overpowers pianist Rudolf Serkin in a deeply emotional reading.

Beethoven Cello Sonatas

(with Sviatoslav Richter)

(EMI/Warner)

This DVD (also on medici.tv), rather than the audio-only rival on Philips, is the Beethoven sonatas set to go for.

Shostakovich Cello Concerto No 1

(Sony Classical)

A Rostropovich signature work, this recording with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia finds him on blistering form.

Dutilleux & Lutosławski Cello Concertos

(Warner Classics)

A terrific pairing of two works that display all the cellist’s strengths – lyricism, virtuosity and hypnotic concentration.

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Shostakovich Symphony No 11

(LSO Live)

Rostropovich remains one of the leading Shostakovich conductors and here wields the baton at the Barbican in a shattering interpretation.

Shostakovich Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

(Warner Classics)

Slava conducts his wife Galina Vishnevskaya in Shostakovich’s razor-sharp satirical opera.

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Bach Cello Suites

(Warner Classics)

As iconic a recording of this towering masterpiece as was Casals’ in an earlier era. Emotion writ large, played with an extraordinary passion.

Mstislav Rostropovich – Cellist of the Century

A new beautifully presented box-set from Warner Classics, containing 40 CDs, 3 DVDs and a 200-page booklet.