Oistrakh mentee dies at 90
RIPWe have learned belatedly of the death of Viktor Pikaizen, a violinist groomed for greatness by David Oistrakh.
Son of the concertmaster of Kyiv Opera, Pikaizen won the 1965 Paganini Competition in Genoa and came second at the next Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Oistrakh called him ‘a violinist of unlimited possibilities’ but he settled for a post at the Moscow Philharmonic and a professorship at the Moscow Conservatoire. He died in July this year, aged 90.
“but he settled for …” – thus disparaging Pikayzen’s long and distinguished career, solo orchestral players, and instrumental teachers in one underhand blow. Well done.
Victor Pikayzen may have “settled” for his position in Moscow, his discography is stellar, even hard to find. His playing is full of character, virtuosic, as well as tasteful. His Ysaye 6 is brilliant.
He is also the father of Tatyana Pikayzen, an excellent pianist, and grandfather of Igor Pikayzen, a decent violinist and mediocre footballer.
Youtube has some highlights:
https://youtu.be/AUDDxGs_4LU?si=N-BKjOwXkS1gC4Q9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItvZueNtP4I
When EMI made such a splash by releasing a series of Melodiya stereo LPs, one of them was Viktor Pikaisen playing the Wieniawski No. 1 and the Dvořák Concerto, and David Oistrakh conducted the Dvořák. I remember it getting a lot of classical radio play at the time and he was everything Oistrakh said. There are as JB points out a number of choice items on YouTube. I second the above-expressed unease at this notion that he “settled” for anything. Teaching violin at the Moscow Conservatory sounds pretty top-of-the-hill to me.
He was also a juror for at least one Tchaikovsky Competition.
Better than settling for flinging mud at others for a living.
Belatedly indeed! The great violinist’s passing seems to have Slipped Disc-ussion somewhere, or he has died a double death as on July 10th 2023 this blog gave an RIP to “Oistrakh’s Moscow soloist!”
Thus the faint praise continues for a fine artist. I’d certainly “settle for” a career of Pikaizen’s quality.
To Disc-uss; you may have Slipped up!
A truly phenomenal violinist. Listen to him playing this transcription of the Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Misdummer Night’s Dream. Breathtaking virtuosity, yet seemingly effortless. Apart from a video on youtube of his son playing it, I’ve never found another recording of this piece. Maybe they have the only copy! RIP Viktor Pikaizen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIuxtVe2WfU
Thank you for posting that link, Jonathan. A fearsome transcription indeed, credited on the video (and on that of Pikaisen’s son) to Willy Burmester, who made his reputation playing Paganini. Every Burmester transcription I’ve ever run across was deliberately easy to play to increase sales, but this one ranks right up there in difficulty with Leopold Auer’s transcription of the Chorus of Dervishes from Beethoven’s Ruins of Athens (stunningly recorded by the young Heifetz and pretty much ignored by others) and Szigeti’s knuckle-busting transcription of Scriabin’s etude in thirds. Farish’s String Music in Print does not list a Burmester transcription of the Mendelssohn Scherzo, but DOES show one, published by Carl Fischer, that Heifetz made (one of the surprisingly many Heifetz transcriptions that he himself never recorded). That suggests the Burmester transcription was out of print by the 1960s.
For those brave enough, the Burmester publication can be found online on the imslp website.
Thanks for your reply….Has anyone recorded the Heifetz transcription? Is the Burmester transcription of the Mendelssohn on imslp? I couldn’t see it there.
A violinists violinist. RIP.
All of these comments regarding “settled for” reveal an instant gratification by being offended among these commenters. The reality here is that Pikaizen (sp?) could have had all the career of any of the top Galamian-trained peers, but opted to focus within the Communist bloc. What could have been had his legacy been absorbed by the rest of the world? He might have made a much greater contribution to violin and music performance in general had he taken up a post in the US. Sadly the state of violin playing in Russia today reveals a culture oblivious to the fruits of its past.
Imagine if Rostropovich or Richter had opted for such a relatively dull path.
Stop searching for ways to be offended.
A violinists violinist. RIP
Pikaizen was one of the 20th century’s greatest violinists, only because of the Cold War few people in the West knew about it. Very few superb performances of his Bach have been recorded for posterity on Melodiya. Just google him on YT.