The David Oistrakh Cycle (II/III)

The great director, violinist, and writer Bruno Monsaingeon—whose incredible documentaries you can discover on medici.tv—takes an admiring look back on one of the most significant violinists of the 20th century, David Oistrakh, through priceless archival footage from Soviet television, painstakingly rediscovered and restored. The career of the virtuoso, born in Odessa in 1908, is inextricable from the tumultuous political climate of his time, marked by the October Revolution; it wasn't until his victory in the first Queen Elisabeth Competition (then named for Eugène Ysaÿe) in 1937, not long before his 30th birthday, that he won renown on a global scale, becoming "a paragon of patience and stubbornness."

In this second volume, dive into the Latin rhythms of Lalo's Symphonie espagnole with Russian pianist Vladimir Yampolsky accompanying the legendary Oistrakh. You'll also hear the formidable Sibelius Violin Concerto with Oistrakh's "imposing and overwhelmingly lyrical stamp," in Monsaingeon's words. At the same 1966 concert with the Moscow Philharmonic and Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Oistrakh gives an unforgettable encore of Beethoven's Romance in G Major. Finally, enjoy the Adagio and Rondo from Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 3, which sees Oistrakh team up with piano titan Sviatoslav Richter in a recording with a striking visual quality to match its auditory treasures, thanks to "the sobriety of its long, quiet shots."