David Oistrakh (1908–1974) was born in the Ukrainian city of Odessa and commenced his studies at the age of five, making his public debut the following year. Initially he studied both violin and viola and between 1923 and 1926 he was a pupil at the Odessa Conservatory. From 1934 Oistrakh taught at the Moscow Conservatory (over the years his pupils included Oleg Kagan and Gidon Kremer) and in 1937 he won the inaugural Ysaye (Queen Elisabeth) Competition held in Brussels. During the Second World War Oistrakh gave concerts close to the front line and was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1942. In addition, he formed a trio with Lev Oborin and Sviatoslav Knushevitzky, the three continuing to perform and record together regularly until 1963. Oistrakh was one of a select group of artists permitted to tour outside the Eastern bloc with appearances in Helsinki (1949), Florence (1951), France (1953), London (1954) and the USA (1955). David Oistrakh also developed a successful conducting career, often appearing alongside his son Igor (1931–2021) as conductor or viola player. He suffered his first heart attack in 1964 and consequently made fewer appearances thereafter. Oistrakh passed away whilst on tour in Amsterdam in 1974
David Oistrakh
