Born in Baku, Azerbaidjan, in a family of cellists. At the age of four he started piano lessons with his mother and shortly afterwards began to study the cello with his father. He continued under his father 's tuition at the Central Music School in Moscow and then went on to the Moscow Conservatoire. He made his debut in 1940, with the Concerto no. 1 by Saint - Saëns. Soon after he won competitions in Prague and Budapest, his career displaying a spectacular evolution. He was invited to per - form on all the great stages of the world, especially after he took residence abroad, together with his wife, Galina Vishnevskaya. Apart from his cello career, he also performed as pianist in the lied recitals of his wife. During recent decades he began conducting both symphonic concerts as well as opera performances such as: Eugene Onegin, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Tosca, Peter Grimes, etc. As a fervent promoter of peace and friendship in the world, Rostropovich has conducted symphonic works with a special sig - nificance, such as Britten 's War Requiem . Beginning with 1977, he was named Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival. On the occasion of his 60 th anniversary, Rostropovich had a series of six concerts together with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO ). A large number of composers throughout the world dedicated cello concerts to Rostropovich, among them being Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khachaturian, Britten, Dutilleux, Lutoslawsky. He also approaches chamber music, collaborating with maestros such as Sviatoslav Richter, Vladimir Horowitz, Martha Argerich, David Oistrakh. He made many recordings for EMI Classics, as an exclu - sive artst. His artistic performances were rewarded with several awards, titles and medals offered by governments and prestigious universities throughout the world:The Legion of Honor, Lenin Prize, The Annual Award of the Human Rights League, London Royal Philharmonic Society 's Golden Medal, German Order of Merit, The Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Arts Association, Doctor Honoris Causa of the following Universities:Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Tel Aviv, Dublin, Oxford, Cambridge, Sussex, St. Andrews. He is Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

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