Musical treats

RE “Rostropovich’s Life Combined Glory, Sorrow,” April 28: Mark Swed comments, “in later years, [Mstislav] Rostropovich did not know when to stop playing his cello.” Fortunately, that was true, for I was blessed with the opportunity to see the then-77-year-old master play the Dvorak concerto with his unique passionate phrasing.

In contrast, Pablo Casals was accessible to me in the 1960s only through my parents’ LP recordings of his White House performance. I shall always cherish the hour I sat enraptured as the septuagenarian Slava awed us with his brilliance with the Santa Barbara Symphony.

RAQUELLE DE LA ROCHA

Studio City