David Oistrakh studied violin as a child with Pyotr Stoliarsky in Odessa, making his debut there at the age of 6, and then continued his studies with Stoliarsky at the Odessa Conservatory during 1923-26.
Oistrakh’s name attracted universal attention in 1937 when he won first prize at the Ysaÿe Competition in Brussels, in which 68 violinists from 21 countries took part. This launched his career of as a violin virtuoso.
He died while on a visit to Amsterdam as a guest conductor with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Listen now to the sound and to the technique that made Mr. Oistrakh a world-famous performer. He plays the music of Beethoven and Brahms as recorded at a concert in New York in 1970.
