The great Russian cellist and conductor, Mstislav Rostropovich, died yesterday in Moscow. His musical genius and human integrity are justly celebrated in a front page tribute in today's New York Times.

His friend, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whom Rostropovich sheltered in the 1970s when the author was under attack by Soviet authorities, called his death "a bitter blow."

I have a personal, though quite distant, relationship with Rostropovich. As a 19 year old, experiencing Europe for the first time, I was directed to the little Burgundian town of Vezelay. There on a hill stands the ancient basilica of St. Mary Magdalene.

Climbing the hill, one first enters the door into the porch area that provides a transition space. Then one encounters the great portal opening onto the church itself. Over this door, carved in stone, is the magnificent figure of the risen Christ bestowing the Holy Spirit upon the apostles ranged on either side of him.

The effect is awe-inspiring. I cannot attribute my vocation to the priesthood to that moment; but the image has remained with me and guided my prayer and thought for the ensuing 50 years.

Many years later, I was looking to purchase a recording of the Suites for Unaccompanied Cello of Johann Sebastian Bach. I finally chose the recording by Rostropovich. Opening the packet, I discovered to my delight that he had chosen to record them in the very basilica that had so impressed me for its spiritual austerity and beauty.

Here is the Times' report:

It was not until 1991, when he was 63, that [Rostropovich] decided to record allsix of the Bach Suites, a set he considered the crowning glory of theinstruments literature.

It was a project over which hemaintained complete control. He chose the site, the BasiliqueSainte-Madeleine, in the Burgundian village of Vzelay, France, becausehe considered the churchs acoustics perfect and the simplicity of itsarchitecture inspiring. He produced and edited the recordings himselfand paid for the sessions so that if he were dissatisfied, he would befree to destroy the tapes.

As it turned out, he was pleased with the results, which were released on CD and video in 1995.

In his linear notes for the recording, Rostropovich elaborates further. He had hesitated to record the Bach Suites until he felt spiritually mature enough for the challenge. He finally decided it was now or never. But he sought a locale for the recording that would sustain him spiritually in the musical offering. Hence he chose Vezelay.

For all his spiritual depth, Rostropovich was a Russian extrovert, brimming with feeling and human sensibility.

The Times reports:

Tall, heavyset and bald except for a halo of white hair, Mr.Rostropovich was a commanding presence both on and off the stage. Buthe was also gregarious in an extroverted, Russian way. At the end of anorchestral performance, he often hopped off the podium and kissed andhugged every musician within reach.

One prays that "Slava" will now receive his halo of unfading glory, and that in heaven there will be huge Russian hugs all around.

Robert P. Imbelli, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, is a longtime Commonweal contributor.

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