Mstislav Rostropovich’s standing as the pre-eminent virtuoso cellist of our time tends to obscure the debt that numerous contemporary composers owe to him. From his friendships with Britten and Shostakovich to his premiere of Eric Tanguy’s Second Cello Concerto with the BSO last year, Slava’s passionate advocacy for new music dwarfs that of almost any artist of comparable stature. Among the more than 70 works written for him, these two concertos are among the most rewarding, and they’re especially worthy of re-release in EMI’s "Great Recordings of the Century" series.

Henri Dutilleux wrote "Tout un monde lointain" ("A whole remote world") under the influence of Baudelaire, from whom the titles of the work and each movement are taken. The poem’s sensuality is reflected in the kaleidoscopic variety of colors present throughout the score. The instrumental backdrop shifts constantly between unusual combinations of instruments. Dutilleux can also write beautiful, involved melodies — such as in the gorgeous second movement — and these Rostropovich plays as wonderfully quixotic songs. Serge Baudo conducts the French orchestra with command and perspective, placing every note in what sounds like its logically correct place.

Witold Lutoslawski’s concerto begins with an extended cadenza for the cello in which repeated notes are repeatedly interrupted by scurrying bits of melody. When the orchestra (conducted here by the composer) finally enters, it’s in the form of an off-kilter brass fanfare that knocks the soloist from the scene. Lutoslawski’s musical syntax is "modern" enough, but the piece nevertheless harks back to the Romantic concerto, in which soloist and ensemble are placed as opposing forces, generating tension out of their confrontation. His sound palette is tougher and less varied than Dutilleux’s, but his concerto conveys more weight and straightforward power. Sound in both works is excellent. An important document of 20th-century music and a tribute to one of its great Muses.