Mstislav Leopolovich Rostropovich KBE (Russian: Мстисла́в Леопо́льдович Ростропо́вич, Mstislav Leopol'dovič Rostropovič, IPA: [rəstrɐ'pɔ̝vʲɪ̝ʨ]), (March 27, 1927 – April 27, 2007), known to close friends as “Slava,” was a Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century.