Cello and Vodka

I heard this musician story on the radio last Friday morning:

In 1958 , five years after Joseph Stalin's death, the Congress of Soviet Composers' Party Resolution, which had for a decade censured Russian musicians, was finally lifted. Forced to withhold his best works for so long, Dmitri Shostakovich was at last freed to compose his first cello concerto. On August Second of 1959, he gave the completed manuscript to his friend, cello virtuoso Mstistlav Rostropovich. Just four days later, Rostropovich, accompanied by Shostakovich on piano, performed the four-movement work from memory three times. Recalling the occasion, Rostropovich said, "We were so happy, we drank a little vodka together. We then played it again, not so perfectly, and drank more vodka. The third time, I think I played the Saint-Saens Concerto while he accompanied his own concerto. We were very happy."

There is a reason that their music is so good :P