David Oistrakh, the great Russian violinist, outstanding pedagogue, and esteemed conductor was born in the city of Odessa in the Russian Empire (now Ukraine). His father was David Kolker and his mother was Isabella Beyle (née Stepanovsky), who later on married Fishl Oistrakh.
At the age of 5, young Oistrakh began his studies of violin and viola as a pupil of Pyotr Stolyarsky. In his studies with Stolyarsky Oistrakh became a very good friend of Daniel Shindarov, with whom he performed numerous times around the world, even after becoming famous, for students at Stolyarsky School of Music. He would eventually come to predominantly perform on violin.
At the age of 6, David Oistrakh performed his debut concert. He entered the Odessa Conservatory in 1923, where he studied until his graduation in 1926. In the Conservatory he also studied harmony with composer Mykola Vilinsky.
His 1926 graduation concert consisted of J.S. Bach’s Chaconne, Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata, Anton Rubinstein’s Viola Sonata, and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major. In 1927, Oistrakh appeared as soloist playing the Glazunov Violin Concerto under the composer’s own baton in Kiev, Ukraine – a concert which earned him an invitation to play the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in Leningrad with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Nikolai Malko the following year.
From 1934 on, David Oistrakh held a teaching position at the Moscow Conservatory, and was later made professor in 1939. Some of his colleagues while teaching at the Moscow Conservatory included Yuri Yankelevich and Boris Goldstein.
Oistrakh taught Oleg Kagan, Emmy Verhey, Gidon Kremer, Zoya Petrosyan, Victor Danchenko, Cyrus Forough, and his son Igor Oistrakh.
Here is David Oistrakh to play for you the sonata in A-Major by Cesar Franck:
