thumb|Oistrakh in 1954

David Fyodorovich Oistrakh ( – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, violist, and conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1960).

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's violin concerti and the violin concerto by Aram Khachaturian. He is considered one of the preeminent violinists of the 20th century.

Life and career

Early years

Oistrakh was born to a Jewish family in Odessa, in Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Odesa, Ukraine). His presumed father was Fischl Eustrach, son of a second guild merchant, and his mother was Beyle Oistrakh, an actress and singer. At the age of five, young Oistrakh began his studies of the violin and viola as a pupil of Pyotr Stolyarsky. In his studies with Stolyarsky he became very good friends with Iosif Brodsky, Nathan Milstein 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 in 1923, where he studied until his graduation in 1926. Cyrus Forough, Olga Parhomenko, and his son Igor Oistrakh. In the 1950s, David Oistrakh invited Yulia Brodskaya to be his assistant in teaching solo and chamber music and Rosa Fine as his assistant for solo students.

From 1940 to 1963, Oistrakh performed extensively in a trio that also included the cellist Sviatoslav Knushevitsky and the pianist Lev Oborin. It was sometimes called the "Oistrakh Trio". Oistrakh collaborated extensively with Oborin, as well as Jacques Thibaud, a French violinist.

During World War II

During World War II he was active in the Soviet Union, premiering new concerti by Nikolai Miaskovsky and Aram Khachaturian as well as two sonatas by his friend Sergei Prokofiev. He was also awarded the Stalin Prize in 1942. The final years of the war saw the blossoming of a friendship with Shostakovich, which led to the two violin concertos and the sonata, all of which were to be premiered by and become firmly associated with Oistrakh in the following years. Oistrakh's career was set from this point, although the Soviet Union was "protective" of its people and refused to let him perform abroad. He continued to teach in the Moscow Conservatory, but when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, he went to the front lines, playing for soldiers and factory workers under intensely difficult conditions. Arguably one of the most heroic acts in his life was a performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto to the end in the central music hall during the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942 while central Stalingrad was being massively bombed by the German forces. At least one source indicates that Oistrakh performed there that winter.

International travel

thumb|David Oistrakh, Franz Konwitschny and Igor Oistrakh after a guest performance in Berlin, 1957

Oistrakh was allowed to travel after the end of the war. He travelled to the countries in the Soviet bloc and even to the West. His first foreign engagement was to appear at the newly founded "Prague Spring" Festival where he was met with enormous success. In 1949 he gave his first concert in the West – in Helsinki. In 1951, he appeared at the "Maggio Musicale" Festival in Florence, in 1952 he was in East Germany for the Beethoven celebrations, France in 1953, Britain in 1954, and eventually, in 1955, he was allowed to tour the United States.

Oistrakh had remarked that this (Richaume) bow gave him great satisfaction, so much so that when in Paris he had to meet Richaume in person.

Honours and awards

thumb|Oistrakh on a Russian commemorative coin

;Soviet

  • Two Orders of Lenin – 1946 and 1966
  • Two Orders of the Badge of Honour – 1937 and ?
  • People's Artist of the USSR, 1953
  • Stalin Prize, 1st class – 1943
  • Lenin Prize – 1960
  • Honoured Artist of the RSFSR

;Foreign

  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland – 1966
  • Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold II, Belgium – 1967

Awards

  • Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (With or Without Orchestra) – 13th Annual Grammy Awards, 1971, Brahms: Double Concerto 17th Annual Grammy Awards, 1975, Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1
  • Grammy Hall of Fame – 2003

Recordings

Oistrakh made recordings for the state classical music label, Melodiya. These recordings were marketed in the west under EMI Records and in the U.S.A. under Angel Records. He made a few guest recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Eugene Ormandy. These were issued by Columbia Records. In the 21st century, many of the Melodiya recordings have been reissued by Warner Classics, whose parent company acquired EMI's classical catalog.Oistrakh also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon:David & Igor Oistrakh; Franz Konwitschny: Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft: The Mono Era 1948-1957

Legacy

There is a yearly music festival, "The David Oistrakh Festival", from late August to October in Estonia.

Moscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition is a biennial competition for young violinists held since 2006 in memory of David Oistrakh, organized by the non-profit David Oistrakh Charity Foundation. The competition, supported by Moscow government's Department of Culture, the Ministry for Culture of Russia and the Moscow Conservatory, is a member of the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth.

The competition aims to popularize and develop the best traditions of Russian violin performance, and to discover young musicians.

See also

  • Moscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition

Notes

References

Further reading

  • A Portrait (in Russian)
  • Allmusic Discography
  • Discography by three pages at Youngrok Lee's music page