![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-45930-0004, Berlin, Gastspiel David und Igor Oistrach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-45930-0004%2C_Berlin%2C_Gastspiel_David_und_Igor_Oistrach.jpg)
David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical
violinist
The following lists of violinists are available:
* List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards
* List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists
* List of violinist/compose ...
,
violist
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
and
conductor.
Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin works, including both of
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
's violin concerti and the
violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
by
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenian ...
. He is considered one of the preeminent violinists of the 20th century.
Life and career
Early years
Oistrakh was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
,
Kherson Governorate
The Kherson Governorate (1802–1922; russian: Херсонская губерния, translit.: ''Khersonskaya guberniya''; uk, Херсонська губернія, translit=Khersonska huberniia), was an administrative territorial unit (als ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(today part of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
). His father was Fischl Eustrach, son of a second guild merchant, and his mother was Beyle Oistrakh. At the age of five, young Oistrakh began his studies of the
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
and
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
as a pupil of
Pyotr Stolyarsky
Pyotr Solomonovich Stolyarsky (russian: Пётр Соломонович Столярский, uk, Петро Соломонович Столярський), (29 April 1944) was a Soviet violinist and eminent pedagogue, honored as People's A ...
. In his studies with Stolyarsky he became very good friends with
Iosif Brodsky Iosif may refer to:
People
*Iosif Amusin, Soviet historian
*Iosif Anisim, Romanian sprint canoer
* Iosif Blaga, Romanian literary theorist and politician
* Iosif Bobulescu, Romanian bishop
* Iosif Capotă, Romanian anti-communist resistance fight ...
,
Nathan Milstein
Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist.
Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and ...
and other violinists with whom he collaborated numerous times after achieving fame since their beginnings as fellow students at the Stolyarsky School.
In 1914, at the age of six, Oistrakh performed his debut concert. He entered the
Odessa Conservatory
Odesa National Music Academy named after AV Nezhdanova ( uk, Одеська національна музична академія імені А. В. Нежданової) or Odesa Conservatory is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music educ ...
in 1923, where he studied until his graduation in 1926. At the conservatory he also studied
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
with the composer
Mykola Vilinsky
Mykola Mykolayovych Vilinsky ( uk, Микола Миколайович Вілінський; 14 May 18889 September 1956) was a Soviet and Ukrainian composer who held senior chairs at the Odesa Conservatory and later the Kyiv Conservatory. He ...
. His 1926 graduation concert consisted of
Bach's ''
Chaconne
A chaconne (; ; es, chacona, links=no; it, ciaccona, links=no, ; earlier English: ''chacony'') is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short rep ...
'',
Tartini's ''
Devil's Trill Sonata
The Violin Sonata in G minor, B.g5, more familiarly known as the ''Devil's Trill Sonata'' ( Italian: ''Il trillo del diavolo''), is a work for solo violin (with figured bass accompaniment) by Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770). It is the composer's bes ...
'',
Rubinstein's ''
Viola Sonata
The viola sonata is a sonata for viola, sometimes with other instruments, usually piano. The earliest viola sonatas are difficult to date for a number of reasons:
*in the Baroque era, there were many works written for the viola da gamba, includin ...
'', and
Prokofiev's ''
Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major''. In 1927, Oistrakh appeared in
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
as soloist in
Glazunov Glazunov (; feminine: Glazunova) is a Russian surname that may refer to:
*Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer
** Glazunov Glacier in Antarctica named after Alexander
* Andrei Glazunov, 19th-century Russian trade expedition leader
* An ...
''
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
'' in a performance conducted by the composer, which earned the violinist an invitation to play the
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
''
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
'' in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
with the
Philharmonic Orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...
under
Nikolai Malko
Nicolai Andreyevich Malko (russian: Никола́й Андре́евич Малько́, ua, Микола Андрійович Малько; 4 May 188323 June 1961) was a Russian-born American symphonic conductor.
Biography
Malko was born in ...
the following year.
In Moscow
In 1927, Oistrakh relocated to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, where he gave his first recital and met his future wife: the pianist
Tamara Rotareva (1906–1976). They were married a year later and had one child,
Igor Oistrakh
Igor Davidovich Oistrakh (russian: И́горь Дави́дович О́йстрах; uk, Ігор Давидович Ойстрах 27 April 1931 – 14 August 2021) was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by ''Encyclopædia Brita ...
, who was born in 1931. Igor Oistrakh later followed his father's path as a violinist, and eventually performed and recorded side by side with his father, including
Bach's Double Concerto, which they first recorded in 1951, and
Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante. In at least one of the recordings of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, Igor Oistrakh played violin, while Oistrakh played viola.
From 1934 onwards, Oistrakh held a position teaching at the
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...
, and was later made professor in 1939. Some of his colleagues while teaching at the conservatory included
Yuri Yankelevich
Yuri Yankelevich (Russian: Юрий Исаевич Янкелевич) (7 March 1909 – 22 September 1973) was a Soviet violin pedagogue who taught many internationally known virtuosos during his long tenure at the Moscow Conservatory.
Life and c ...
and
Boris Goldstein
Boris Goldstein (Busya Goldshtein; 25 December 1922 – 8 November 1987) was a Soviet violinist whose career was greatly hindered by the political situation in the USSR. As a young prodigy, he started violin studies in Odessa with the eminent ped ...
. Oistrakh taught
Oleg Kagan,
Valery Klimov (who later succeeded Oistrakh's position at the Moscow Conservatory),
Emmy Verhey
Emmy Verhey (born 13 March 1949, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch violinist.
Biography
Verhey received her first violin lesson from her father when she was seven. Within a year, she played the Violin Concerto in A minor and the Concerto for Two Vi ...
,
Oleh Krysa
Oleh may refer to:
* Oleh, Delta
* Common Ukrainian male name, see also Oleg
* A Jew immigrating to Israel (plural of oleh is olim
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, histo ...
,
Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica.
Life and career
Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holoc ...
, Yulia Brodskaya (Julia Verba),
Zoya Petrosyan Zoya (russian: Зоя, links=no) is a feminine Russian and Ukrainian first name, a variant of Zoe (name), Zoe, meaning "life", from Greek ζωή (zoē), "life".