Witold Rostropovich was a Russian and Polish pianist, music teacher, composer, publisher, and compiler of collections of piano pieces for teaching. He was born in Skotniki on April 22, 1856, and died in Voronezh on September 25, 1913. He was the father of cellist Leopold Rostropovich and the grandfather of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.
Rostropovich lived in Leipzig from 1870 and graduated from its polytechnic institute. He also studied music with Leipzig Conservatory professors Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn. He moved to Voronezh in 1879, where he taught piano at the Voronezh Men's Gymnasium from 1889 to 1905. His pupils included G. I. Romanovsky and the brothers Boris and Vsevolod Eikhenbaum.
He took part regularly in concert evenings and benefit concerts. His compositions were published in Voronezh, as were his collections of teaching pieces. He joined the board of the Voronezh branch of the Imperial Russian Musical Society in 1883 and became its director in 1896. He was buried in Voronezh's Ascension Cemetery; his grave has not survived.
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