# David Oistrakh Recommendations



## Jayrum (Jul 14, 2021)

Greetings. My first posting to Talk Classical. Some advice and recommendations needed, please. I have the 22CD boxed set "David Oistrakh - The David Oistrakh Edition" (2016) on DG. It contains his recordings for DG, Decca, Philips & Westminster/Melodiya (details https://www.discogs.com/David-Oistrach-The-David-Oistrakh-Edition/release/15166998 ). I need more Oistrakh! Could you please advise where to go from here? I'd prefer to go the CD boxed set route if possible, but certainly will get smaller sets or individual CDs. Apologies if I missed other threads on this topic. Thank you.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Look at this box, hope it has other works then the box you have:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7965961--david-oistrakh-the-complete-emi-recordings


----------



## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)




----------



## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

I am not sure which current releases are available, but I would look for him playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto. His are some of my favorite recordings of that magnificent concerto.


----------



## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Jayrum said:


> Greetings. My first posting to Talk Classical. Some advice and recommendations needed, please. I have the 22CD boxed set "David Oistrakh - The David Oistrakh Edition" (2016) on DG. It contains his recordings for DG, Decca, Philips & Westminster/Melodiya (details https://www.discogs.com/David-Oistrach-The-David-Oistrakh-Edition/release/15166998 ). I need more Oistrakh! Could you please advise where to go from here? I'd prefer to go the CD boxed set route if possible, but certainly will get smaller sets or individual CDs. Apologies if I missed other threads on this topic. Thank you.


You should certainly get the EMI/Warner set that Rogerx recommended; if you have the DG and EMI/Warner boxes, you have almost all of his commercial output, leaving only some odds and ends on Columbia/CBS/Sony, and of course, Melodiya. There are also some excellent live performances on the BBC label.


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

His Beethoven concerto with Cluytens conducting is magnificent.


----------



## Jayrum (Jul 14, 2021)

Thank you all for the recommendations. I bought the Complete EMI box for starters. wkasimer, the DG box contains the Melodiya material. I will look for the BBC recordings. I'll post back after I get the EMI box. Cheers.


----------



## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Jayrum said:


> Thank you all for the recommendations. I bought the Complete EMI box for starters. wkasimer, the DG box contains the Melodiya material. I will look for the BBC recordings. I'll post back after I get the EMI box. Cheers.


The DG box contains some Melodiya material, the stuff that was issued on Westminster. I think that there's more Melodiya stuff here:









And hopefully you can find this one, too:


----------



## Jayrum (Jul 14, 2021)

wkasimer, thank you for the additional recs. I have seen the Melodiya box here and there. I have to do some comparisons with the DG box. If I can sort through Richter's discography, I can sort through anything.


----------



## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Some of that melodically box can be found separately. The sonatas 2&3 by Brahms as well as Franck and Shostakovich with Richter are essential. Of many concertos there are several recordings.You will want Prokofiev EMI, Sibelius, Shostakovich (2nd may be hard to find but was on a bmg melodiya disc.


----------



## Jayrum (Jul 14, 2021)

Brahmsianhorn, I'm listening to the Shostakovich Violin Concerto, Op.99 right now. Fabulous!


----------



## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

I have heard many fine performances of Beethoven's VC, but Oistrakh with Moscow State Orchestra, conducted Alexander Gauk, remains the most lyrical and moving. Oistrakh coaxed a wonderfully warm tone from his violin


----------



## Jayrum (Jul 14, 2021)

I certainly could be wrong, but I've compared the 22CD DG "Editions" box to the 5CD Melodiya "Editions" box and I don't see any overlap. Which is good news.


----------



## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Brahmsianhorn said:


>


Yes definitely....


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Jayrum, welcome to the Forum.

David Oistrakh is one of the many Russian/Soviet era artists whom I appreciate (along with folks like Sviatoslav Richter, Evgeny Mravinsky, and Emil Gilels). I remain a fan of box sets and have _The Complete EMI Recordings_ box in my collection.

I took a look at my Discogs catalog and found over a dozen listings (single records/discs as well as box sets) featuring the artist David Oistrakh.

One of my favorites is an Everest ‎vinyl record, SDBR 3367, titled _Oistrakh Plays - The Composers Conduct: Khachaturian Violin Concerto / Prokofieff Violin Concerto No.1_. I'm not certain one can find these two concertos in more definitive versions.









I also treasure a Yedang Classics CD: CT-10022, featuring Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67 with the composer joining Oistrakh and cellist Miloš Sádlo. Again, definitive rings true.









By the way, Shostakovich dedicated his Sonata For Violin And Piano, Op.34, written in 1968, to David Oistrakh. You'll want to get hold of the recording featuring Oistrakh in this work.

My real go-to David Oistrakh collection remains the Brilliant Classics 100 CD box set titled _Russian Legends (Legendary Russian Soloists Of The 20-th Century)_, which includes 19 discs dedicated to Oistrakh performing a wide range of works by nearly everyone who was ever anyone is musical circles. I bought my set for under 60 dollars some years back. Still, if you can find this for 100 bucks, it's still worth the price.









Take a look at the composer listings for Oistrakh's recordings:









True, some of the sound is less than great on these recordings, but the performances remain stellar throughout.

By the way, those other two violinists listed on the page from the box set are certainly not slouches either. If you treasure Russian/Soviet music makers of the past century, you'll want to have access to this Brilliant Classics box set. (I believe you may find the set on some download sites, too.)

If you want to find a listing of the works available in this box set take a look at Discogs where there is a photo of each slipcase with recording information.

On the rarer side of things, you might find an interest in composer Evgeni Svetlanov's (yes, he's also the conductor) Poem For Violin And Orchestra (In Memory Of David Oistrakh). It appears on a Russian Disc stereo compact disc: RD CD 11 042, released in 1995 but recorded in the mid 1970s. The violinist is Igor Oistrakh, and the disc shares space with Svetlanov's own Symphony No. 1.









I see there are currently 3 copies available for sale on Discogs. My own I plan to retain for a while yet. I've never taken to the Symphony by Svetlanov, but I have enjoyed the Poem, which alone likely makes the price of the disc worthwhile. Especially to those who admire the late violinist.


----------



## Jayrum (Jul 14, 2021)

SONNET CLV, thank you for the welcome and the recommendations. I appreciate the detail and effort.


----------



## Jayrum (Jul 14, 2021)

I've been able to purchase either on disc or digital download a good amount of what has been suggested. Thank you all. Two other labels; Doremi and Praga, seem to have their own Oistrakh series of releases. I will investigate. I also noticed that Melodiya has a series called Edition David Oistrakh, as opposed to Melodiya/BMG's David Oistrakh Edition. Confusing to say the least. Regardless, the golden sound of Oistrakh will be in the air.


----------



## Simon23 (Dec 8, 2020)

His recordings of Bach concertos are masterpieces, perhaps the best recordings in history.









There is also a Brahms concerto with Otto Klemperer.


----------



## Jayrum (Jul 14, 2021)

I just received Oistrakh's Complete EMI Recordings box. One thing I didn't mention before is that I only paid _$5_ dollars for it. Brand new, sealed. I don't know if it's appropriate to mention where, but I got it from Boston public television station WGBH online shop. I just checked and it seems they have more. I assume these boxes were used as promotional gifts to people during their pledge drives.


----------

