It makes perfect sense that the Russian word for glory and Mstislav Rostropovich's nickname are the same. One of the most beloved people in the world, as an artist, as a mensch, at 75, Rostropovich is still getting better in both departments. His appearance in Davies Hall tonight for the San Francisco Symphony's pension fund concert was an unforgettable event, right along with every other time I heard him. If there is one thing that helps pinpoint what makes him special, it's in the Bach Sarabande that's Rostropovich's signature encore. The packed hall of 2,800 becomes completely silent, the music soars - always fresh, always born again, no matter how many times he plays it - and when it's over, there is always that magical hush before the ovation. How extraordinary it is to sustain something like this, but Rostropovich does. The main course, the Dvorak concerto, was a fascinating experience. Most great string players - Menuhin most dramatically - decline in their seventies, to the point of problems with intonation, missed notes. Rostropovich doesn't show the ravages of time anywhere near to that extent. Some of the power is gone, that much is clear, and Herbert Blomstedt served both the soloist and the music by maintaining a careful, fine balance. The cello's quiet passages were remarkable, Rostropovich playing with clarity, simplicity, in a kind of direct communication that ranges from speaking to singing, not the sound of a bow on the strings. As any orchestra he appears with, these musicians were glowing with affection and pride - string players especially exhibit signs of a schoolboy's crush and awe - but tonight's "private duet" between the cellist and concertmaster Alexander Barantschik was unique. The two Russians (albeit Swiss and English citizens, respectively) played to each other, in a chamber-music setting, the rest of the orchestra disappearing in the background. Polite handshakes at the end were out of the question; bear-hugs and kisses appeared entirely appropriate. Blomstedt tonight ended a brief downturn in his long association with the San Francisco orchestra - with an immiscible Bruckner Fifth Symphony last week as the low point - as he held together the Dvorak and, more, the Nielsen Sixth Symphony in a fashion reminiscent of his best work here. It was a deeply satisfying performance of the extremely difficult Nielsen, even of the fragmented second movement and the wondrously strange Finale, which still sounds "new" 80 years after its introduction. Janos Gereben/SF [log in to unmask]