Igor Oistrakh
Ukrainian violinist and teacher Igor Oistrakh was born in Odessa on 27 April 1931 to Tamara Rotareva and David Oistrakh. He studied mainly with his father but also, from age six, with Valeria Merenbloom. When he was twelve he began studying at the Moscow Central Music School with Pyotr Stolyarsky, who also taught Oistrakh's father and Nathan Milstein. Oistrakh made his concert debut five years later, and won the Budapest International Violin Competition the year after that - 1949. He then studied at Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and, whilst a student there, won the 1952 Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition.
His academic career began at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 1958, and he became a lecturer in 1965. From 1996 he was a professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.
He was a frequent performer internationally, often with his wife, pianist Natalya Zertsalova, or with his father conducting or sharing a joint recital.
Oistrakh died on 14 August 2021, aged ninety, but this was generally not known until the beginning of September 2021.
A selection of articles about Igor Oistrakh
CD Spotlight. Deceptive Naturalness - Red Priest's 'Nightmare in Venice', entertains Howard Smith. '... irrepressible, chic ...'
Profile. A great schooling - Bill Newman talks to Igor Oistrakh as the 50th anniversary of the violinist's UK début approaches