The Resume

(March 27, 1927-April 27, 2007)
Born in Baku, Azerbaijan
Cellist and conductor
Known for his interpretations of concertos by Dvorak, Haydn, Prokofiev and Shostakovich
Exiled from the Soviet Union (1974-90)
Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1987)

Why he might be annoying:

Critics of his conducting said that he became so carried away with the music that he let the performance get out of control.
He sometimes surprised his accompanists by pasting the centerfolds from men's magazines in the pages of their scores.
At a tribute to Isaac Stern, he played Saint-Saens' 'The Swan' wearing a ballet tutu, red lipstick and a swan-like headdress.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was married to Galina Vishnevskaya for 52 years until his death.
He commissioned over 100 new works for the cello.
His travel visa was suspended after he sheltered Alexander Solzenitsyn at his home (1970).
He performed an impromptu concert during the fall of the Berlin Wall.
During an attempted coup by Communist hardliners, he flew to Moscow and joined Boris Yeltsin inside the beseiged parliament building (1991); the next day, an admirer told him, 'It was because you were there that they did not storm the parliament.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 28]
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [March] (Ranked: 3271927)
• Exiles
• I Died in 2007 (Ranked: 80)
• I Have Colon Cancer
• I Performed in Leonard Bernstein’s 60th Birthday Concert [August 25, 1978]
• I Wore a Swan Dress
• I'm Buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow
• Kennedy Center Honorees (Ranked: 1992)
• Knights
• Profiles 28501-28750 (Ranked: 28750)
• U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients
• We Celebrated Our Golden Anniversary

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 22.22% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 51 Votes: 37.25% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 17 Votes: 35.29% Annoying