David Oistrach, the celebrated Soviet Jewish violinist, died today in Amsterdam of a heart attack at the age of 64. Mr. Oistrach was one of the world’s greatest violinists. He had an uninterrupted success as an international performer, solo and with orchestras, for four decades. Mr. Oistrach was the son of a Jewish baker in Odessa. His grandfather had a kosher restaurant in the Black Sea city.
Victor Hachauser, the distinguished musical impressario; paid the following tribute to Mr. Oistrach in a statement to the JTA:
“David and his wife were close friends for 23 years. There was hardly a single day in which we did not talk on the telephone. I knew his mother. too. She used to speak delightful Yiddish. David was a very proud Jew. He played in Israel in 1965 and greatly valued the experience. During times of tension and war in the Middle East. David used to inquire anxiously about Israel. A number of his pupils are in Israel, and he was glad about it. We have lost a musician of genius, a great man and a warm-hearted Jew.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
