Igor Oistrakh: short biography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

It's not easy being the child of a brilliantly gifted person. There are three paths: the first is to become a major boy and lead a non-binding life, the second is to radically change your profession and in no case follow in the footsteps of your parents. And the third - the most difficult - to continue the dynasty. Igor Oistrakh chose third.

Family matters

Igor, or, as he would later be called at home, Garik, was born in 1931 in Odessa in the family of a young, promising violinist. At the age of 23, to acquire a child at an unreliable time for a novice musician is somehow scary. How will David Oistrakh support his family? Probably, the young violinist had a headache, but he was not afraid of difficulties, and six years later he had a stunning success - the "Grand Prix" of the international competition in Brussels.

First steps

Igor's first teacher was an Odessa woman who moved to Moscow, where the Oistrakh family already lived. At the age of six, he began homework, and the teacher set his hands perfectly. But Igor Oistrakh gave up the violin, because he could not extract the same sounds from it as his dad. And only during the war in Sverdlovsk resumed classes, in 1941. Two years later, the first successes appeared, and the boy believed inyourself.

He quickly came to perform virtuoso compositions at the Central Music School when he returned from evacuation to Moscow, and began to take his studies seriously. At 16, he performed in concert for the first time with his father. This is where everyone started comparing their game. The deepest lyricism, which distinguished his father, was not characteristic of Igor. He, as it turned out, gravitates equally to drama and lyrics.

Competition in Budapest

In 1949, the Central Music School was completed, and there was a successful debut at the International Festival of Youth and Students. Igor Oistrakh shared the first prize with the Soviet violinist E. Grach. 49 was also the year Igor entered the conservatory. During his studies, Igor Oistrakh, despite the latent struggle against the dominance of Jews in music, gave many demonstration concerts. On them, he showed himself mature, technical, with his own style and reading of the works by the musician.

Competition in Poznan

In 1952, an international competition to them. Venyavsky. Igor carefully prepared, but he was faced with the task of “not playing” the competitive program. It must be performed both masterfully and freshly. The jury members were especially impressed by the finale – I. Oistrakh's performance of Venyavsky's Second Concerto. The victory went to him. He was deep and virtuoso. Therefore, in 1953, as part of the Soviet delegation, a fifth-year student was sent on tour to London. Since that time, the music world has known about him.

Marriage

In 1960, Igor Oistrakh met the one that everyone dreams of. The pianist Natalya Zertsalova became his chosen one. They had a successor to the Oistrakh dynasty - the son Valery. The wife subsequently became his permanent partner. Together they did a colossal job of recording 10 Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin. By this time, Igor Oistrakh had completed his postgraduate studies and was active in concert activities both at home and abroad, performing both alone and with his father.

Very often, performing in duets, David Oistrakh played the viola, and his son played the violin. Their joint work continued until the death of David Fedorovich in 1974.

Behind the conductor's stand

For the first time in 1968, he stood in front of an orchestra in his homeland and in the same year made his debut as a conductor in Copenhagen. Oistrakh Igor Davidovich carefully selected his repertoire, and it grew rapidly. These were works by Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Richard Strauss.

Performances with son Valeriy

Igor Oistrakh more and more often stood at the conductor's stand, and his adult twenty-six-year-old son performed his parts easily and uninhibitedly. The Berlin public especially noted their well-coordinated play, both in human terms and in the spirit of artistic harmony, while highlighting Tchaikovsky's fifth symphony. Its Russian content was fully felt by the listeners. On tour in Los Angeles, Igor Oistrakh was listened to by the legendary Jascha Kheifetz. It was felt that I. Oistrakh's speech made an impression on him.

50 years of creative union

Wewe have already talked about the recordings of Beethoven's sonatas, but I would like to emphasize that the married life of I. Oistrakh and N. Zertsalova developed exceptionally harmoniously both in everyday life and on stage. They both worked with inspiration, and this was marked by the fact that they became members of the Beethoven Society in Bonn. They recorded all the sonatas for violin and piano by Mozart.

In 2010, their golden wedding took place. The life and creative paths of wonderful musicians are happily intertwined. Their great joy was the achievement of their son Valery, who, continuing the Oistrakh dynasty, became a professor at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels in 1996.

Since 1996 the whole family has been living and working in Belgium. Igor Oistrakh, whose biography has developed exceptionally happily, owes this not only to heredity, but also to the great diligence and understanding of all members of his family.