David Stewart ([log in to unmask]) wrote: >Bob Kasenchak wrote: > >...I'd love to by Shostakovich a drink. > >Yes, I suspect he needs it given the sentiments of symphonies e.g. 5 and >10. In fact a whole off-licence (Amer: liquor store) probably couldn't >make him smile. Then you evidently don't know the story of his frist runthrough of the Cello Conecrto No.1 with Rostropovich. He gave me the manuscript...on 2 August 1958. On the sixth I played it to him from memory, three times. After the first time he was so excited, and of course we drank a little bit of vodka. The second time I played not so perfect, and afterwards we drank even more vodka. The third time I *think* I played the Saint-Saens concerto, but he still accompanied *his* concerto. We were enormously happy. Mstislav Rostropovich, interview with (gasp!) N. Lebrecht Deryk Barker [log in to unmask]