I remember buying this disc in a second hand record shop in London, it was priced £4, and i was debating buying it or not, i eventually decided it was worth it, and i'm glad i did, it's been played fairly regularly since, plus it contains some music i don't have elsewhere, the Schumann Fantasy is a real treat, and the Waxman is a bit of a rarity, all told it's a well chosen programme, and since the demise of the Collins Classical label, it's now hard to find this disc.
Igor Oistrakh is a Ukrainian Violinist, he is now 81, of course his Father is the famous David Oistrakh, and they certainly look similar, he made this recording in 1989, the front cover picture [by R Carpenter Turner] is an excellent shot of Oistrakh and his Wife Zertsalova, a nice dark background, and dark clothing, makes the duo really stand out, showing both the violin and the piano, the lettering is excellently laid out also, well composed visually.
I very much enjoyed this recital, i switched the disc onto random play, and it's good to get whatever comes next, like i said above, i thoroughly enjoyed the Schumann Fantasy, just the sort of thing that Schumann is renowned for, but it was the Paganini piece that just so melts, it truly is a phenomenal creation, lasting barely over 4 minutes, it really packs a punch, probably the best thing Paganini ever did, i don't care for his Violin Concertos, nor his 24 Caprices, but in one fell swoop this piece redeems him, and secures his reputation, the whole this is based on the most sweetest of violin melodies, the piano is merely there to keep a rhythmic flow, and wow what a melody! [0:00-0:55], it could easily be the vocal line for a great song, Schubert would have been proud of, it rises and falls, but there's a section where the music comes to a penultimate heartache [1:16-1:45], and it's the high treble it reaches that is so wonderful [1:40], and the corresponding section a little while later [2:16-2:36], surprisingly the coda comes in with more than a minute left [2:52+], and it's so heartbreakingly beautiful, you don't ever want it to end, there's even a short little cadenza [3:39-3:56], it's a perfect miniature, seems to have everything, some of the best creations are micro pieces.
Here's Sarah Chang playing the Paganini Cantabile on YouTube.
I very much enjoyed this recital, i switched the disc onto random play, and it's good to get whatever comes next, like i said above, i thoroughly enjoyed the Schumann Fantasy, just the sort of thing that Schumann is renowned for, but it was the Paganini piece that just so melts, it truly is a phenomenal creation, lasting barely over 4 minutes, it really packs a punch, probably the best thing Paganini ever did, i don't care for his Violin Concertos, nor his 24 Caprices, but in one fell swoop this piece redeems him, and secures his reputation, the whole this is based on the most sweetest of violin melodies, the piano is merely there to keep a rhythmic flow, and wow what a melody! [0:00-0:55], it could easily be the vocal line for a great song, Schubert would have been proud of, it rises and falls, but there's a section where the music comes to a penultimate heartache [1:16-1:45], and it's the high treble it reaches that is so wonderful [1:40], and the corresponding section a little while later [2:16-2:36], surprisingly the coda comes in with more than a minute left [2:52+], and it's so heartbreakingly beautiful, you don't ever want it to end, there's even a short little cadenza [3:39-3:56], it's a perfect miniature, seems to have everything, some of the best creations are micro pieces.
