Diapason D'Or

Oistrakh had played the [Shostakovich] three times before this Western premiere in London... it's a splendid performance and very well recorded, as we can hear already in the introductory Bliss Fanfare, an extraordinary contrast to the sombre Concerto. Oistrakh appears to command the stage effortlessly and to catch the mood exactly... I can't imagine becoming tired of Oistrakh's Tchaikovsky. The perfect timing of the first movement's cadenza and the slightly inebriated characterisation of the finale's second subject are just two examples of the detail and richness of his interpretation... the Shostakovich is an immensely valuable record. Duncan Druce, Gramophone

...the performance is notably charged, full of tnesion and volatility, the gamut of emotions in the piece, the ciphers, the sorrow, the intense communication, the barbed interjections and the irony fully revealed, Oistrakh at-one with Shostakovich's expression...this is a release worth seeking out. Colin Anderson, Classicalsource

From the BBC archives comes a brilliant performance by Ukrainian virtuoso David Oistrakh of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No.2; the European premiere at London's Royal Festival Hall in November 1967. Shostakovich's son Maxim conducts Oistrakh's performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in G. An historical gem. Gavin Engelbrecht, The Northern Echo