As a child, violinist David Oistrakh survived the upheavals and destruction of World War I and the Russian Revolution. During World War II, he performed for factory workers and for Russian soldiers on the front lines. Throughout the Cold War, he undertook a grueling performance and conducting schedule at home and abroad, his artistry exploited by a regime eager to promote the superiority of Soviet life.
Despite a life fraught with pressures, Oistrakh consistently imbued his playing with a richness and lyricism of tone as well as technical perfection that moved audiences in Europe and the United States and inspired a generation of younger violinists. A towering figure among 20th-century violinists, he was also revered for championing music by such contemporaries as Prokofiev and Shostakovich. He was 66 years old when he died in Amsterdam in 1974 during a concert tour.
In the centennial year marking Oistrakh’s birth in 1908, the Eastman School of Music is holding a three-day celebration in tribute to the violinist. The event, which includes concerts and a lecture, starts Friday, Oct. 10, and is spearheaded by Eastman professor and former Oistrakh student Oleh Krysa. Krysa studied with Oistrakh from 1960 to 1967 at the Moscow Conservatory and performed a concert of Tchaikovsky works under the baton of his mentor in 1966.
Krysa is performing Oistrakh tribute concerts this year in Korea, Japan, Ukraine, and the United States. “The whole world is marking this date not only because David Oistrakh had a tremendous influence on the art of playing the violin, but he influenced musicians throughout the world,” said Krysa. “I’m very grateful that the Eastman School of Music is sponsoring this celebration locally.”
At Eastman, Krysa will be joined in concert by fellow faculty: violinists Charles Castleman, Zvi Zeitlin, Mikhail Kopelman, and Timothy Ying, who will also perform as part of the Ying Quartet with siblings Janet, violin, David, cello, and Phillip, viola; pianists Barry Snyder, pianists Jean Barr, Anna Gourfinkel, and Tatiana Tchekina; and cellist Steven Doane. Also appearing will be the Eastman Chamber Orchestra under conductor Neil Varon and former Eastman School students Grace Lee and Ainur Zabenova, who won second and fifth-place prizes, respectively, in the 2004 David Oistrakh International Competition.
Tickets to each of the three concerts are $18 for the general public (UR ID holders eligible for one free ticket) and can be purchased at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra box office, 108 East Ave., by phone at 585-454-2100, or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php.
“David Oistrakh was not only a teacher of violin and music, he was like a father to his students, he taught us to perform, to play, to live life; and without him, I would have been a very different person,” said Krysa.
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Calendar Listings:
October 10
8 p.m.
David Oistrakh Centenary Celebration: Chamber Music Concert. Oleh Krysa and Charles Castleman, violin; Ying Quartet; Barry Snyder, piano; Steven Doane, cello. Music of Prokofiev, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky.
Kilbourn Hall, 26 Gibbs St.
Tickets: General public, $8 – 18 (UR ID holders eligible for one free ticket); available at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra box office, 108 East Ave., by phone at 585-454-2100, or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php
October 11
5 p.m.
David Oistrakh Centenary Celebration: “David Oistrakh: Performer, Conductor, Teacher.” Lecture by musicologist and violinist Victor Yuzefovich.
Howard Hanson Hall, Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs St.
Free
October 11
8 p.m.
David Oistrakh Centenary Celebration: Concert of Violin Showpieces. Ainur Zabenova, Mikhail Kopelman, Zvi Zeitlin, Grace Lee, Charles Castleman, Oleh Krysa, violin; Tatiana Tchekina, Anna Gourfinkel, Jean Barr, and Barry Snyder, piano; Eastman violin ensemble of Eastman faculty and students.
Kilbourn all, 26 Gibbs St.
Tickets: General public, $8 – 18 (UR ID holders eligible for one free ticket); available at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra box office, 108 East Ave., by phone at 585-454-2100, or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php
October 12
3 p.m.
David Oistrakh Centenary Celebration: Violin Concerto Program. Charles Castleman, Zvi Zeitlin, Oleh Krysa, Timothy Ying, Mikhail Kopelman, Ainur Zabenova, Grace Lee, violin; Eastman Chamber Orchestra under onductor Neil Varon.
Kilbourn Hall, 26 Gibbs St.
Tickets: General public, $8 – 18 (UR ID holders eligible for one free ticket); available at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra box office, 108 East Ave., by phone at 585-454-2100, or online at https://www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php