He played viola and conducted in addition to playing violin. Not merely a master of concertos and solo violin music, Oistrakh also played chamber music, collaborating with othe great artists such as Sviatoslav Richter, Frida Bauer, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky, Lev Oborin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Yampolsky, and his own son Igor.

Oistrakh and Prokofiev

Although Oistrakh is best known as a specialist in late-classical and Romantic works, he also commissioned and was the dedicatee of several contemporary compositions. Prokofiev maintained a close relationship with Oistrakh, some times collaborating with him on violin works. Most famously, Oistrakh, upon hearing the Flulte Sonata Op 94 for violin, coaxed Prokofiev to re-write it for violin and piano, which he did, resulting in the now famous Sonata for Violin and Piano No 2, Op. 94b.

Prokofiev later introduced his First Violin Sonata to Oistrakh (and Miaskovsky) in 1946. Upon hearing it, Oistrakh remarked "the music itself made an enormous impression -- one had the feeling of being present at a very great and significant event. Nothing written for the violin in many decades -- anywhere in the world -- could equal this piece in beauty and depth." Oistrakh later played the first and third movements of the First Violin Sonata at Prokofiev's funeral.