Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was a Russian cellist and conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enlarged the cello repertoire more than any cellist before or since. He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces, forming long-standing friendships and artistic partnerships with composers including Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutosławski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris, Leonard Bernstein, Aram Khachaturian, and Benjamin Britten.
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Op. 29 is an opera in four acts and nine scenes by Dmitri Shostakovich. The libretto, jointly written by Alexander Preys and the composer, is based on the novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov.
Princess Mafalda of Savoy was the second daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and his wife Elena of Montenegro. In 1925, at the age of 22, she married the Landgrave of Hesse, Philipp. In 1943, during World War II, she was imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp, where she died. The future King Umberto II of Italy was her younger brother.
Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya was a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966. She was the wife of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, and mother to their two daughters, Olga and Elena Rostropovich.
Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State Prize (1972), the Lenin Prize (1984), and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1992), and is a former member of the Inter-regional Deputies Group (1989–1991). He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain.
Yelena Georgiyevna Bonner was a human rights activist in the former Soviet Union and wife of the physicist Andrei Sakharov. During her decades as a dissident, Bonner was noted for her characteristic blunt honesty and courage.
The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale is an opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed during 1880–1881. The Russian libretto, by the composer, is based on the like-named play by Alexander Ostrovsky.
Elena Vasilyevna Obraztsova was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano. She was awarded the People's Artist of the USSR in 1976 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1990.
Jean-Pierre Wallez is a French violinist and conductor.
The Kronberg Academy is a private music school based in Kronberg im Taunus, Germany. Founded in 1993 by Raimund Trenkler, the academy trains a select group of young musicians who have the potential to build international careers as soloists and chamber musicians.
Nikolay Andreevich Suslov, is a Russian film producer and writer. Graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Doctor of Law, 1992).
Turks in Russia, also referred to as Turkish Russians or Russian Turks, refers to people of full or partial ethnic Turkish origin who have either immigrated to Russia or who were born in the Russian state. The community is largely made up of several migration waves, including: descendants of Ottoman-Turkish captives during the Russo-Turkish wars; the Turkish Meskhetian community; and the more recent Turkish immigrants from the Republic of Turkey.
The Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation (RVF) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that supports programs to improve the health of children worldwide.
Vyacheslav Michailovich Polozov is a Soviet operatic tenor. He sang at many opera houses around the world, appearing in a variety of leading roles from lyric to dramatic repertoires in French, Italian, German and Russian. Laureate International Competitions. Meritorious Artist of the Byelorussian SSR.
Pelageya Sergeyevna Telegina, known mononymously as Pelageya, is а Russian singer. She sings folk-songs from different nations in different languages, romances and compositions written by the members of her group, mostly in rock arrangements.
Tatjana Vassiljeva is a Russian cellist with many prizes.
Anne Gastinel is a French cellist and professor.
The Poet's Echo is a song cycle composed by Benjamin Britten (1913–76) in August 1965 during a holiday visit to the Soviet Union, in Dilizhan, Armenia. It consists of settings for high voice and piano of six poems by the Russian poet Alexandr Pushkin (1799–1837), in their original language. It was published as his Op. 76.
Ksenia Alexandrovna Kuprina was a French model and actress of Russian and Hungarian origins. A daughter of the Russian writer Alexander Kuprin, she was known in France by her stage name Kissa Kouprine.
Darya Volodymyrivna Kobets, known professionally as Dasha Medova and later Mira Kulum, is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter, actress, TV presenter and model. She was a member of Dmitriy Kostyuk's version of Nu Virgos from 2013 to 2014. She disappeared without a trace in 2018.
