Back in 2002, Atlanta, when I first started haunting free Western classical music concerts, I discovered that I could buy classical music on the Yedang Classics label for far lower prices than your regular EMI or Phillips type labels. And the thing about Yedang label was that the musicians on its roster all came from countries classified as the "East Bloc" during the Cold War era. It was on one such CD (yes, if you have $5 to spare buy this gem of a CD) that I had heard Rostropovich play Dvorák - I was mesmerized and very much taken by the beauty of his cello playing. So this rainy morning when I discovered, on accidentally clicking the Google News tab, that Rostropovich had passed away, I YouTubed him playing Dvorák right away, and begun my day thusly:

R.I.P Mastero!