David Oistrakh - Brahms: Violin Concerto in D

David Oistrakh, the celebrated Russian violinist, was one of a small group of Soviet artists invited by EMI to participate in their program of recording for the first time with major orchestras in the USA, following the end of the company's long-standing reciprocal licensing arrangements with CBS and RCA. EMI's first venture in this field was a set of Beethoven Piano Concertos with Emil Gilels as soloist, made with the Cleveland Orchestra under its Hungarian conductor George Szell in the Severance Hall, Cleveland, in April and May 1968. This was followed in May 1969 with the Brahms Violin Concerto with Oistrakh and the Brahms Double Concerto with Oistrakh and Rostropovich. The Penguin Guide said of the LP of the Violin Concerto that the performance was "full of controlled feeling and disciplined vitality that must be numbered among the finest of the full-price versions available."