Oistrakh, Oborin: Beethoven – Sonatas for Piano and Violin (4 CD box set, APE)

Performer: David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 4 CD box set
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Philips
Size: 977 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 1 in D major, Op. 12/1
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 2 in A major, Op. 12/2
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 12/3
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 5 in F major (“Spring”), Op. 24
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 6 in A major, Op. 30/1
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 7 in C minor (“Eroica”), Op. 30/2
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 8 in G major, Op. 30/3
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 9 in A major (“Kreutzer”), Op. 47
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

# Sonata for violin & piano No. 10 in G major (“The Cockcrow”), Op. 96
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin

David Oistrakh and Lev Oborin are still a benchmark

As an aid to studying the Beethoven Sonatas for Violin and Piano I have listened to YouTube performances by many recent and older artists. Ibragimova and Tiberghien phrase so beautifully to make the dynamic contrasts so musical. Kremer/Argerich and Zukerman/Barenboim both are as good as one could want. One major artist whose version I do not like at all is Anne-Sophie Mutter, with Lambert Orkis. In the end, though, none of these performances satisfies the way Oistakh and Oborin do. One might expect stereotypically exaggerated Romanticism from this generation of Russians, but Oistrakh knew exactly what the music demanded, with Oborin a co-equal always. These sonatas demand mastery of such a wide range of style and feeling that even accomplished musicians don’t always succeed. This recording is as close to a definitive effort as I can imagine.