Mstislav Rostropovich - The Complete Decca Recordings

'On every count this is a triumphant record...it offers us Rostropovich's own superb playing...admirably partnered by Britten (who shows himself an outstanding chamber music pianist by any standards)...a splendid performance of the Debussy Sonata ... technically too, the recording is impeccable...The Schumann - a slight work which, in other hands, can be rather humdrum - gives us the opportunity of admiring the cellist's ravishing cantabile and his finesse of rubato and of tonal gradation... the Debussy is notable for its sensitivity, fluidity and fantasy, and for the remarkable rapport which evidently exists between these two artists: the finale in particular drew forth a spontaneous cry of 'Bravo!' from me...supremely beautiful playing from both cellist and pianist, with never a dead note in even the most incidental bit of figuration [Schubert]...the engineering is superb: the sound is glorious, and so true to life that if you shut your eyes you can imagine the players in your own room.'
Gramophone January 1962 & October 1970 on the Schubert & Schumann

To celebrate the 85th anniversary of the Russian maestro's birth on 27 March 2012, Decca have collated all the recordings he made for Decca and Philips into one stunning 5CD box set. A must not only for students of the cello, but also for all who appreciate exemplary musicianship.