A David Oistrakh pupil calls time at 79
NewsVictor Yampolsky, son of Oistrakh’s piano partner, has announced his retirement from teaching after 37 years at Northwestern University.
He has gone from being principal second violin of the Boston to one of the most influential orchestral trainers and teachers of young conductors. His pupils include Nashville Symphony’s Giancarlo Guerrero; Roderick Cox, who is currently making his Boston Symphony debut; Richmond Symphony’s Guy Bordo and Portugal’s Joana Carneiro.
Here’s an appreciation of his life and work.
photo: Jonathan_Townsel
I had the pleasure to work with Professor Yampolsky at Northwestern. What a great man and character! Sharp as a tack and funny as hell. He will be missed. I didn’t know he was a student of Oistrakh.
Another successful student of his is Ankush Bahl, Conductor of the Omaha Symphony.
A few Yampolsky-isms, as we called them (we even collected them in a book):
Me: “How were the new student conducting candidates?”
Victor: “I want nice, big juicy steak, like a Prime rib. What do they give me? Wet, mushy Burger King!”
Victor: (Indicating which movement to start with of Mozart’s ‘Great Mass in C’) “Sanctus”
Me: “You’re welcome!”
VY: *dry smile*
From a Tanglewood high-school orchestra rehearsal, 1981. We were well into the rehearsal process for whatever program it was, and should have been sounding better than we were.
“WHY? Why you come here, play like pigs, waste your parents’ money? You drive like you play, you have accident tomorrow.”
Wasn’t he the son of Oistrakh’s teacher????
No. He is the son of Oistrakh’s sonata partner.
I filmed the conducting audition at Northwestern University once where Yampolsky clearly and unfairly got a violin student of his accepted to the program. All the other candidates were given no introduction and told to conduct the 3rd movement. Then a student arrived and Yampolsky walked up to the podium, introduced the student, and asked “which movement would you like to conduct?”.
That student not only was the only one to conduct different music in the audition but they were also the only one accepted. I lost all respect for that man. Glad to see a crooked teacher retire.
Almost phoned the police when he started to physically harass the bassist with a stand b/c of a silly error in the bass part. The next week, he tried to proposition a stage hand who was clearly 50+ years younger than him. He was fired afterwards. (Did I fuck him during rehearsals? You betch’ I did! Gotta share the love all around!)
Almost phoned the police when he started to physically harass the bassist with a stand b/c of a silly error in the bass part. The next week, he tried to proposition a stage hand who was clearly 50+ years younger than him. He was fired afterwards. (Did I fuck him during rehearsals? You betch’ I did! Gotta share the love all around!)