“Even had he never picked up a baton, Rostropovich would still be remembered as one of the great musicians of the 20th century — a noble and impassioned cellist whose stated intention was to combine the qualities he most admired in his famous predecessors: “sound from [Gregor] Piatigorsky, ideas and personality from [Pablo] Casals, feeling and beauty from [Pierre] Fournier.” He was an unabashed Romantic who played with a full, burnished tone, effusive emotionalism and a virtuosic command of the instrument.”