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Speaking at the reception, President Vladimir Putin said that Mr Rostropovich’s jubilee was a big event not just in Russian but also in world cultural life. Mr Putin noted that not only is Mr Rostropovich an outstanding musician but that he has also spent the last 25 years doing philanthropic work.

Mr Rostropovich was awarded the Order for Services to the Fatherland I class at the reception.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev also attended the reception. Mr Rostropovich was born in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, and Mr Aliev passed on the warmest greetings and best wishes of Azerbaijan’s people. Mr Aliev also announced that he had signed a decree awarding Mr Rostropovich Azerbaijan’s highest decoration – the Order of Geidar Aliev.

A number of foreign leaders and members of royal families attended the reception, including Prince Albert II of Monaco, Princess de Palma, Donna Christina de Bourbon (the daughter of the King of Spain) and her husband, Princess Benedikt of Denmark, Princess Irena of Greece, Princess Badia Bint Al Hassan of Jordan and her husband, and former Federal Chancellor of Austria Wolfgang Schlussel and his wife.

The concert opened with a performance of ‘Mnogaya leta’ by the Alexandrov Song and Dance Ensemble. Works by Stravinsky, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian, Mozart, Bizet, Messner and Shostakovich were also performed. The Moscow State Academic Orchestra performed with the participation of students from the Galina Vishnevskaya Children’s College of the Arts, soloists from the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre and other groups.