RCA LM-1987 (1955): David Oistrakh recital

RCA LM-1987

Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata No. 1 in F minor

Jean-Marie Leclair: Sonata No. 3, in D

Pietro Locatelli-Eugène Ysaÿe: Sonata in F minor

David Oistrakh, violin

Vladimir Yampolsky, piano

Matrix numbers: F2RP-8343 20S / F2RP-8344 20S

One of the local record stores in my neighborhood recently restocked their classical bin with an infusion of really wonderful records from the 1950s-1960s, nearly all in excellent and, in many cases, unplayed condition. In my first sweep of this mini treasure trove, I initially passed up on this mono RCA recital recording from violinist David Oistrakh and pianist Vladimir Yampolsky. However, I thought the better of it, and when I had the opportunity to swing by again a couple of days later, I picked up the disc along with a couple of others that I had also wrongfully neglected the first time.

This recital includes an interesting selection of violin sonatas. The Prokofiev Sonata No. 1 is a 20th century work and is starkly different from the Leclair and Locatelli two sonatas, which were written during the Baroque era. Prokofiev dedicated his first violin sonata to Oistrakh, who also premiered it with pianist Lev Oborin in 1946. The Locatelli sonata, originally composed in 1737, was reworked by Belgian violinist/composer Eugène Ysaÿe. From the liner notes, I discovered that Oistrakh and Yampolsky performed the Prokofiev as part of his debut recital at Carnegie Hall in 1955 and mesmerized the audience. A brief Google search led me to the original concert review in the New York Times from November 21, 1955, which indeed listed the Prokofiev sonata as the second piece of the evening:

Beethoven - Sonata No. 1 in D, Op. 12

Prokofieff - Sonata No. 1 in F minor

Tartini - Sonata

Medtner - Nocturne in C minor

Ysaye - Sonata-Ballade No. 3

Khachaturian - Dance in B, Op. 1

Tchaikovsky - Valse Scherzo, Op. 34

Here's what the reviewer, Howard Taubman, wrote regarding Oistrakh's performance of the Prokofiev:

"The Prokofieff sonata, which was dedicated to Mr. Oistrakh in 1946, was the most interesting piece on the program. While it has some pages calling for speed and fireworks, the burden of its thought is restrained and personal. It is music of delicate light and shade.

In the third movement, for example, it calls for coloring of the subtlest sort, which must be projected within a narrow dynamic compass. Here Mr. Oistrakh played like a magician. There was a filigree lightness in his bowing, and yet each note was clear in articulation and balanced in weight."

To be honest, I wasn't very familiar with any of the sonatas on this recording. However, from the opening moments of the first movement of the Prokofiev, I was immediately drawn to the piece by the beauty and power of Oistrakh's playing. The richness and warmth of his tone as well as the precision, expressiveness, nobility, and humanity of his playing have made him one of my all-time favorite violinists.

Both violin and piano are reproduced well on this mono recording. There was some very slight surface noise on my copy but nothing that distracted from the music.  I invite you to listen to the excerpts below and hear for yourself: 

  

Excerpt from Prokofiev's Sonata No. 1 in F minor, 1st movement:

Excerpt from Prokofiev's Sonata No. 1 in F minor, 4th movement:

For those looking for a stereo version of the Prokofiev, Oistrakh re-recorded the sonata (paired with Brahms' second violin sonata) with pianist Sviatoslav Richter on the Melodiya label in 1972.

 

The Leclair and Locatelli sonatas are works that also showcase Oistrakh's virtuosity. The Leclair is a bit of sunshine after the darker sounding Prokofiev on side 1, while the Locatelli returns to the more somber key of F minor. The performances of both are excellent.