David Oïstrakh
David Oistrakh is considered the premiere violinist of mid-20th century Soviet Union. His recorded legacy includes nearly the entire standard violin repertory up to and including Prokofiev and Bartók. Oistrakh's violin studies began in 1913 with famed teacher Pyotr Stolyarsky. Later he officially joined Stolyarsky's class at the Odessa Conservatory, graduating in 1926 by playing Prokofiev's First Violin Concerto. Performances of the Glazunov concerto in Odessa and Kiev in 1927, and a 1928 debut in Leningrad (Tchaikovsky concerto), gave Oistrakh the confidence to move to Moscow. He made his premiere there in early 1929, but the event went largely unnoticed. In 1934, however, after several years of patiently refining his craft, Oistrakh was invited to join the Moscow Conservatory, eventually rising to the rank of full professor in 1939.
Meanwhile, Oistrakh was gaining success on the competition circuit, winning the 1930 All-Ukrainian contest, and the All-Soviet competition three years later. In 1935 he took second prize at the Wieniawski competition. In 1937 the Soviet government sent the now veteran violinist to Brussels to compete in the International Ysaÿe Competition, where he took home first prize.
With his victory in Brussels, Soviet composers began to take notice of their young compatriot, enabling Oistrakh to work closely with Myaskovsky and Khachaturian on their concertos in 1939 and 1940, respectively. In addition, his close friendship with Shostakovich led the composer to write two concertos for the instrument (the first of which Oistrakh played at his, and its, triumphant American premiere in 1955). During the 1940s Oistrakh's active performing schedule took him across the Soviet Union but his international career had to wait until the 1950s, when the political climate had cooled enough for Soviet artists to be welcomed in the capitals of the West.
The remaining decades of Oistrakh's life were devoted to maintaining the highest possible standards of excellence throughout an exhausting touring schedule (he returned to the U.S. six times in the 1960s), and he began a small but successful sideline career as an orchestral conductor. His death came suddenly in Amsterdam in 1974, during a cycle of Brahms concerts in which he both played and conducted. Oistrakh's unexpected death left a void in the Soviet musical world which was never really filled.
Throughout his career David Oistrakh was known for his honest, warm personality; he developed close friendships with many of the leading musicians of the day. His violin technique was virtually flawless, though he never allowed purely physical matters to dominate his musical performances. He always demanded of himself (and his students) that musical proficiency, intelligence, and emotion be in balance, regardless of the particular style. Oistrakh felt that a violinist's essence was communicated through clever and subtle use of the bow, and not through overly expressive use of vibrato. To this end he developed a remarkably relaxed, flexible right arm technique, capable of producing the most delicate expressive nuances, but equally capable of generating great volume and projection.
As a teacher, David Oistrakh maintained that a teacher should do no more than necessary to help guide the student toward his or her own solutions to technical and interpretive difficulties. He rarely played during lessons, fearing that he might distract the student from developing a more individual approach, and even encouraged his students to challenge his interpretations. Perhaps the best evidence of the Oistrakh's gift for teaching is that he felt that he gained as much from the teaching experience as his students did.
© TiVo
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Tchaikovsky: Chamber Works, Vol. 6
David Oïstrakh, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky, Vladimir Yampolsky, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Lev Oborin, Kirill Kondrashin
Classical - Released by DOREMI on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Oistrakh and Tchaikovsky
David Oïstrakh, Staatskapelle Dresden, Lev Oborin, Franz Konwitschny, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky
Classical - Released by Archipel on 29 Apr 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, TH 59 & Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50, TH 117 (Live)
David Oïstrakh, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Lev Oborin
Classical - Released by Archipel on 19 Mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS, J.: Violin Concerto in D minor / Tapiola / Symphony No. 7 (1954) (Oistrakh)
David Oïstrakh, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Beecham, Nils Eric Fougstedt
Classical - Released by Ondine on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 67 & Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 77 (Live)
David Oïstrakh, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Lev Oborin, Evgueni Mravinski
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 27 Aug 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J. S. Bach, Medtner & Levina: Violin Sonatas
David Oïstrakh, Alexander Goldenweiser, Zara Levina
Chamber Music - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 15 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Recital: Oistrakh, David / Oistrakh, Igor – LECLAIR, J.M. / KODALY, Z. / STRAVINSKY, I. / PROKOFIEV, S. / BRAHMS, J. (1954, 1962)
David Oistrach, Igor Oistrach, Nahum Walter & Natalia Serzalowa
Violin Concertos - Released by Berlin Classics on 5 Jun 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 (Recorded 1956) (Live)
New York Philharmonic, David Oïstrakh, Dimitri Mitropoulos
Concertos - Released by New York Philharmonic on 1 Jan 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms & Bruch : Symphony No. 1- Scottish Fantasy
David Oïstrakh, Jascha Horenstein, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Infinity on 27 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonata For Piano And Violin No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer" - Sonata For Piano and Violin No. 10 in G major, Op. 96
Chamber Music - Released by RHI on 5 May 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple concerto, Op. 56 (Mono Version)
David Oïstrakh, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky, Lev Oborine
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
David Oistrakh Bach and Beethoven Recordings
Classical - Released by Archipel on 5 Mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
David Oistrakh Plays Piano Trios (Vol. 2)
David Oïstrakh, Svyatoslav Knushevitzky, Lev Oborin
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 2 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hindemith: Mathis der Maler - Symphonische Metamorphosen - Violinkonzert
David Oïstrakh, London Symphony Orchestra, Paul Hindemith, Claudio Abbado, Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Paul Kletzki
Classical - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms & Dvořák: Violin Concertos
David Oïstrakh, The USSR TV and Radio Large Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin
Classical - Released by CDK Music Classical on 1 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 7 & Triple Concerto
Lev Oborin, David Oïstrakh, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky
Classical - Released by Music Online on 4 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Felix Mendelssohn : Symphony No. 3, Op. 56 & Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 64
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig conducted by Franz Konwitschny, Igor Oistrach
Concertos - Released by Berlin Classics on 18 Aug 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin / Dvorák / Ravel / Smetana: Piano Trios
David Oïstrakh, Lev Oborin, Svyatoslav Knushevitzky
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1 - Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1
David Oïstrakh, USSR State Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Past Classics on 1 Nov 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Échos du souvenir, vol. 1 (Collection trésors, mono version)
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Concertos
Concertos - Released by Past Classics on 17 Feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo