When I think about dying wishes, I think of grand proclamations, deep revelations, or avowals of great emotions.

Like:

“I was the luckiest person in the whole world because I had you two amazing kids.”

Or

“Now I can see that God’s hand touched all the moments, even the ones I didn’t like, and it made for a meaningful journey as I managed to navigate the path to where I needed to go.”

Or

“Of all the pets I’ve known, you were the most faithful and loyal and you made a difference in my life.”

I don’t think of dying wishes delving into practical issues. Like:  

“I’ve thought about this a lot. And I think… No, I’m certain that… you need to clean the refrigerator out every week.”

Right? Who’s with me on this?

But a little touch of practicality makes the story about the great composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s dying wish to his student, the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich even funnier. I was lucky enough to be able to hear this story from author and educator, Nancy Shear, when I interviewed her on the How to Share podcast about her fabulous memoir, I Knew a Man Who Knew Brahms.

Nancy started sneaking in to the Philadelphia Orchestra as a teenager. That led to her landing the job as the assistant librarian to the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 17. In her memoir, Nancy tells about all the incredible people she got to know, including the wonderfully charismatic conductor Leopold Stokowski who starred in Disney’s Fantasia to the incredible cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.

Back to the dying wish. To set the scene, Rostropovich is leaving the Soviet Union in 1974 because he’s been speaking out in defense of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, artistic freedom, and human rights. His mentor, Dmitri Shostakovich, is ill and knows he will likely never see Rostropovich again. [Shostakovich was right because he died in 1975 and Rostropovich didn’t return to Russia until 1990.]

Here’s a clip of Nancy telling the story of Shostakovich’s dying wish:

Isn’t that a great story?

If you want to hear more of Nancy’s episode, you can listen (and please subscribe) to How To Share on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts.

I’m the host of the How to Share – a podcast that celebrates the art of teaching, learning, giving, and growing. My personal blog site is Surprised by Joy. You can also find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

(featured photo from Pexels)