Igor Oistrakh
Unlikely cities to nurture great culture?
I have been aware for some time that the Ukrainian city of Odessa (on the Crimean pennisula on the Black Sea) has been the birth place of some of the greatest names in art – especially in the early years of the 20th century:
Anna Akhmatova (poet)
Simon Barere (pianist)
Zakhar Bron (violinist)
Maria Grinberg (pianist)
Leonid Mandelstam (scientist)
Nathan Milstein (violinist)
David Oistrakh (violinist)
Igor Oistrakh (violinist)
Yakov Zak (pianist)
Now, Odessa is an attractive city of around one million people, but not a place one would immediately associate with such great names in western culture. One naturally expects from the great musical centres like Vienna, Berlin, New York and Paris, but Odessa?
Are contributors aware of other unlikely cities around the world that have spawned a perhaps surprisingly high number of great artistic figures?
Variable 46: Care to expand at all?
Yes, Liverpool and Seattle have spawned some great pop and rock bands, for sure.
I would not be at all surprised to find most if not all of your named artists to be Ashkenazim (i.e. European Jewery.)
Odessa, being a working port city and a thriving economic center, was perhaps spared one or more pogroms in its history, and was comprised of a majority merchant class able to afford and encourage their offspring to go into the arts — especially if that part of the merchant class were Jewish. (The valuing of education and the arts is strong within Jewish communities – not genetic but cultural.)
Being a ‘smaller’ city, and considered more about trade and positive economy than politics, the oppressive regime which so limited Russia’s Jewish population from participation in other work was probably more relaxed, or near nonexistent in Ukraine.
Gentile families, I would guess for the most part, would abhor any of their offspring becoming artists (as they still, almost everywhere, do): the children should go into business, of course, or at least pick up a discipline better understood as ‘practical.’
Stella Adler once said, ‘I’m just this Jewish broad from Odessa.’ -Yes, she was another great artist / teacher, Russian-Jewish, from Odessa.
Certainly, similar doors and avenues were more clearly closed to Jews in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Amsterdam, Netherlands, having welcomed both the intellectual and merchant Jewish communities so long ago in its history, circumstantially accounts for Spinoza and many other names still remembered in arts and letters. Amsterdam too, is ‘small’ on the population count compared to London, Paris, etc. It too, was supported by the wealth of a thriving community of merchants, who flourished by doing international trade. (it seems a broad outlook is present, almost de facto, in communities which have their economic base in international business).
Best regards
David & Igor Oistrakh- Bach Double Concerto (2nd mvt.)
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David Oistrakh: Artist of the People [VHS] $16.99 Bruno Monsaingeon’s David Oistrakh: Artist of the People? is a probing portrait of perhaps the most thought-provoking of modern violin virtuosos, and a good companion to his similarly revealing documentary on pianist Sviatoslav Richter. Although conversation with the man himself is minimal (Oistrakh died in 1974), Monsaingeon is able to draw upon the priceless reminiscences of those who worked wit… |
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David Oistrakh – Bach: Concerto for two violins; Mozart: Sinfonia concertante; Brahms: Violin Concerto $19.83 David Oistrakh and Igor Oistrakh perform in this 1961 recording of the Bach. Sir Colin Davis conducts the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra with Yehudi Menuhin and Kirill Kondrashin in these works by Bach, Mozart, and Brahms recorded in 1961 and 1963…. |
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Great Violinists of the Bell Telephone Hour (1959-1964) $27.11 The most talented violinists of the 20th century are showcased on this collection that features 10 captivating live performances. Selections include Debussy’s “La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin” by Zino Francescatti, “Tambourin Chinois” by Kreisler, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor by Erica Morini, and more. 90 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono…. |
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Bach Violin Concerto in A minor & Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 5 / David Oistrakh $16.79 One of the most gifted violinists of his time, David Oistrakh performs an impressive selection of pieces including Bach’s Violin Concerto in A, BWV1041, Brahms’ Violin Concerto (3rd Movement), Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5, Prokofiev’s 5 Melodies, Op. 35 and more. 76 min. Standard; Soundtrack: PCM mono…. |
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David Oistrakh : conversations with Igor Oistrakh … |
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David Oistrakh, Coversations with Igor Oistrakh … |
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Igor Oistrakh in Recital MC … |
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David Oistrakh: The Complete EMI Recordings $35.68 … |
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David Oistrakh $13.19 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed…. |
