It is not easy to be a child of a genius gifted person. There are three paths: the first is to become a major boy and lead a non-binding life, the second is to radically change your profession and in no case follow in the footsteps of your parents. And the third - the most difficult - to continue the dynasty. Igor Oistrakh chose the third.
Family matters
Igor, or, as he will later be called at home, Garik, was born in 1931 in Odessa in the family of a young, promising violinist. At the age of 23, having a baby in a precarious time is somehow frightening for a beginner musician. What funds will David Oistrakh support his family? Probably, the young violinist had a headache, but he was not afraid of difficulties, and six years later he came to a stunning success - the Grand Prix of the international competition in Brussels.
First steps
The first teacher of Igor was an Odessa citizen who moved to Moscow, where the Oistrakh family already lived. At six, he began homework, and the teacher put his hands perfectly. But Igor Oistrakh threw the violin, because he could not extract the same sounds from it as his dad. And only during the war in Sverdlovsk resumed classes in 1941. Two years later, the first successes appeared, and the boy believed in himself.
He quickly came to perform virtuoso compositions at the Central Music School when he returned from evacuation to Moscow, and began to take his studies seriously. At age 16, he first performed at a concert with his father. That's where everyone began to compare their game. The deepest lyricism that distinguished his father was not peculiar to Igor. He, as it turned out, gravitates equally to drama and lyrics.
Competition in Budapest
In 1949 the Central School of Music was completed, and there was a successful debut at the International Festival of Youth and Students. Igor Oistrakh shared the first prize with the Soviet violinist E. Grach. 49 was at the same time the year Igor entered the conservatory. During his studies, Igor Oistrakh, despite the latent struggle with the dominance of Jews in music, gave many demonstration concerts. At them, he showed himself mature, technical, with his own style and reading of works by a musician.
Competition in Poznan
In 1952 was to be held an international competition to them. Wieniawski. Igor carefully prepared, but he was faced with the task of “not playing” the competition program. It must be performed both masterly and freshly. The finale made a special impression on the jury members - I. Oistrakh's performance of the Second Concert of Wieniawski. The victory went to him. He was deep and virtuoso. Therefore, in 1953, as part of the Soviet delegation, the fifth-year student was sent on a tour to London. Since that time, the music world has learned about him.
Marriage
In 1960, Igor Oistrakh met the one that everyone dreams of. The pianist Natalya Zertsalova became his chosen one. They born the successor of the Oistrakh dynasty - son Valery. The wife subsequently became his regular partner. Together they did a tremendous job of recording 10 Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin. By that time, Igor Oistrakh had finished graduate school and was active in concert both at home and abroad, speaking both alone and with his father.
Very often, speaking in duets, David Oistrakh played the viola, and his son played the violin. Their joint work continued until the death of David Fedorovich in 1974.
At the conductor's console
For the first time in 1968, he stood in front of an orchestra in his homeland and in the same year made his debut as a conductor in Copenhagen. Igor Davidovich carefully selected the Oistrakh repertoire, and he grew rapidly. These were the works of Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Richard Strauss.
Performances with son Valery
Igor Oistrakh more and more often got up at the conductor's console, and his adult twenty-six-year-old son easily and unhindered played his parts. Especially the Berlin audience noted their harmonious play both in human terms and in the spirit of artistic harmony, highlighting the fifth Tchaikovsky symphony. Its Russian content was fully felt by the audience. On a tour in Los Angeles, Igor Oistrakh listened to the legendary Yasha Kheifets. It was felt that the performance of I. Oistrakh impressed him.
50 Years Creative Union
We have already talked about the recordings of Beethoven’s sonatas, but I want to emphasize that the married life of I. Oistrakh and N. Zertsalova was extremely harmonious both in everyday life and on stage. They both worked with inspiration, and this was noted by the fact that they became members of the Beethoven society in Bonn. They recorded all the sonatas for Mozart's violin and piano.
In 2010, their golden wedding took place. The life and creative paths of wonderful musicians were happily intertwined. Their great joy was the achievement of the son of Valery, who, continuing the Oistrakh dynasty, became professor at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels in 1996.
Since 1996, the whole family lives and works in Belgium. Igor Oistrakh, whose biography turned out to be exceptionally happy, owes this not only to heredity, but also to enormous hard work and understanding of all members of his family.