Rostropovich in hospital

There are few people who would welcome a visit from a former Soviet officer at the moment, but arguably the world’s greatest cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich was visited in hospital by Vladimir Putin this week.

The cellist was hospitalised in Paris last week, one of the many countries he has gained residence, and has been moved to a hospital in Moscow (he was stripped of his Russian citizenship in 1974), noted for its Oncology department. The cellist will celebrate his 80th birthday later this year.