Oscar Shumsky
There must have been something special in American water during the 1910s, something that allowed an unusual number of the children born during the decade to develop into violin prodigies of extraordinary gifts: Yehudi Menuhin and Ruggiero Ricci come straight to mind, and of course Isaac Stern (who was not really a prodigy as such, but why quibble?), and then, a minute later, the lesser-known but equally-brilliant Oscar Shumsky, born in 1917 and active as a performer all the way up into the 1990s. With this group of young American violinists, the North America made its first true bid for musical equality with the First World. When Shumsky passed on in July 2000, one of the last remaining links (they are growing ever more precious) to a beautiful bygone era was lost -- but not, thanks to modern recording technology and a class of distinguished pupils, forgotten.
Shumsky was born in Philadelphia, PA, to a Russian immigrant family on March 23, 1917. Early lessons on the violin were fully absorbed, and, at Leopold Stokowski's invitation, Shumsky appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Josef Suk's Fantasy for violin and orchestra (or, according to alternate accounts, in Mozart's Violin Concerto No.5!) at the tender age of 8. During the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s, Shumsky studied with a pair of the finest teachers in the world: Leopold Auer (teacher of, among other distinguished pupils, the great Jascha Heifetz) and Efrem Zimbalist (a great violinist, who is nevertheless better known today as the father of the Hollywood personage by the same name). Shumsky joined Toscanini's NBC Orchestra just before the outbreak of World War II and stayed with it for about three years, all the while working to build a solo career and also playing with the Primrose String Quartet. He taught at one time or another at many schools, including the Peabody Conservatory, the Juilliard School, and the Curtis Institute. In the 1950s he began adding appearances as a conductor to his résumé. His solo career was not a particularly steady one -- he all but ceased giving concerts in the 1950s and only took up an active schedule again when he was in his sixties!
Shumsky's playing was distinguished by a velvety sonority (partly the product of the fine 1715 Stradivarius violin, the "ex-Rode," that he usually played) that nevertheless was wholly capable of steel-rimmed force when need be, and also by a refinement of manner that, while doing little to make his name one widely known to the general public, endeared him to serious music lovers around the world. Of his many recordings, the complete set of Mozart violin sonatas that he made with Artur Balsam is of special value.
© TiVo
Discography
18 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Bach: The Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006
Classical - Released by Musical Heritage Society on 2 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: The Violin Sonatas
Classical - Released by Musical Heritage Society on 10 Sep 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Works for Violin & Orchestra
Oscar Shumsky, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Eric Shumsky, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 20 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Sonatas for Violin and Viola
Chamber Music - Released by Musical Heritage Society on 5 May 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Oscar Shumsky, Philharmonia Hungarica, Uri Segal
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 5 Nov 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach, Beethoven & Others: Violin Works (Live)
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 23 Jun 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms: The 21 Hungarian Dances (arr. for violin and piano by Joseph Joachim) (piano and violin arrangement by Joseph Joachim)
Classical - Released by Musical Heritage Society on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kreisler: Violin Music, Volumes 1 & 2
Classical - Released by Musical Heritage Society on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, Schumann & Others: Works for String Quartet
The Primrose Quartet, Jesús María Sanromá, Oscar Shumsky, Josef Gingold, William Primrose, Harvey Shapiro
Chamber Music - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 3 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27
Classical - Released by Nimbus Records on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin Concerto Nos. 4 & 5
Classical - Released by Nimbus Records on 1 Jan 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Historic Broadcast Recordings
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 20 Apr 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: The 3 Violin Sonatas
Chamber Music - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 1 Nov 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Favourites, Vol. XV
Oscar Shumsky, Robert Miller, John Tunnell
Concertos - Released by Nimbus Records on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, J.S. Bach, Schumann & Others: Works
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 15 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin Sonatas
Oscar Shumsky, Leopold Mittman
Chamber Music - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 4 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Historic Studio Recordings
Chamber Music - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 15 Nov 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dohnányi & Weiner: Violin Sonatas
Chamber Music - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 27 Feb 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo