  (Soundbite of music)   We're listening now to music played by
Mstislav Rostropovich, the cellist who has died at the age of
80. His death was announced today in Moscow. Slava, as he was
known, was a performer, a conductor, a teacher, and a mentor. He
inspired many musicians, including NPR's classical music
commentator Miles Hoffman, who's on the line, and who played
with him, played under his direction for seven years.  Miles,
what was he like?  MILES HOFFMAN: Oh, Steve, what was he like?
Whenever people used to ask me what was Slava like, I used to
say, well, some people are a little bit of everything. Slava is
a lot of everything. And I think that's the best way to describe
him. He was very changeable. But he was enormous. He was an
enormous personality. He was just a fabulous personality in
every direction.  INSKEEP: We've got a short piece of tape from
Rostropovich where you get a sense of his enthusiasm. He was
asked about conducting his approach to a piece of music.
(Soundbite of archived recording)