Chamber music was an essential part of Istomin’s career for more than thirty years. After 1980, the last year of activity for the Trio which he had founded with Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose, he performed chamber music only on very special occasions.

His repertoire includes some sixty works and, unlike solo piano and concerto, is almost entirely devoted to Beethoven and Brahms. Istomin played all the Beethoven chamber music with piano (with the exception of the three early piano quartets and the music for flute), a total of thirty-one works. In 1970, the Beethoven bicentenary year, he performed the complete cycle with Stern and Rose, in four series of eight concerts. Istomin also performed nearly all of Brahms’ chamber music in various contexts, with the exception of the Piano Quartet Opus 60 and the Horn Trio Opus 40.

In addition, there are of course the great trios by Schubert and Mendelssohn, as well as a single trio by Haydn (Hob.XV:10) and another by Mozart (K. 502) – but there is no Russian music (aside from the Andante of the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata!) and very little French music (with the exception of Franck’s Violin Sonata and the Ravel Trio).

What is also striking is the relatively small number of musicians with whom Istomin agreed to play chamber music, apart from Casals (with whom he gave many concerts and also privately played the complete cello repertoire of sonatas and concertos) and his partners in the Trio. Here is the list of his partners, classified by instrument and in chronological order of collaboration.

Violonists: Alexander Schneider, Joseph Fuchs, Szymon Goldberg, Yehudi Menuhin, Henryk Szeryng, Irina Botchkova, Jaime Laredo, Leonidas Kavakos, Pinchas Zukerman.

Violists: Milton Katims, Milton Thomas, Michael Tree, Pinchas Zukerman, Bruno Giuranna, Yuri Bashmet, Choong- Jin Chang.

Cellists: Mischa Schneider, Frank Miller, Paul Tortelier, Sharon Robinson, Mstislav Rostropovich.

String Quartets: Kroll, Budapest, Guarneri.

Clarinetists: David Oppenheim, Robert Marcellus.

Singers: Jenny Tourel, Maureen Forrester, David Lloyd, Eileen Farrell, Adele Addison, Donald Gramm.

Here is the list, as complete and precise as possible, of the chamber music works (including lieder) that Istomin performed during his career, with mention of the periods during which he played them and of the recordings which were made. The dates cited after each work indicate the period during which Istomin performed it.

J. S. BACH

Gamba Sonata No. 1 in G Major BWV 1027: 1950-1953    

Live recording: Pablo Casals. Prades, July 7, 1953.

Trio Sonata for Flute, Violin and Continuo in D Major BWV 1038: 1950

Official recording: with John Wummer and Isaac Stern. 1950, Columbia.

Trio Sonata for 2 Flutes and Continuo in G Major BWV 1039: 1953

Live recording: John Wummer and Bernard Goldberg. Prades, July 3, 1953.

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BEETHOVEN

Sonatas for Piano and Violin: 1944-1997

Complete: with Alexander Schneider (1949); with Isaac Stern (1955-1997).

Other occasional collaborations: Joseph Fuchs, Szymon Goldberg, Irina Botchkova, Leonidas Kavakos, Jaime Laredo.

Official recording: Complete Sonatas, with Isaac Stern. 1969, 1982 & 1983. Columbia.

Video recording: Sonata No. 1. Isaac Stern. July 29, 1973. BBC Studio.

Live recordings:

  1. Sonatas No. 1, 2, 4 & 8. Joseph Fuchs. Prades, June 7 & 22, 1954.
  2. Sonata No. 10. Isaac Stern. Puerto Rico, June 1, 1970.
  3. Sonata No. 10. Isaac Stern. London, Queen Elizabeth Hall, October 8, 1970.
  4. Sonata No. 1. Leonidas Kavakos. Evian, May 31, 1992.
  5. Sonata No. 5. Jaime Laredo. Evian, May 20, 1994.

Sonatas and Variations for Piano and Cello: 1945-1970

Complete: Pablo Casals (1954-1965); Leonard Rose (1955-1970)

Other collaboration: Seymour Barab (1945)

Official recording: Sonatas No. 3 & 5. Leonard Rose. 1969, Columbia.

Live recordings:

  1. Sonata No. 2. Pablo Casals. Prades. June 7, 1954.
  2. Sonata No. 4; Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” WoO 46. Pablo Casals. Prades. June 22, 1954.
  3. Sonata No. 3. Pablo Casals. Puerto Rico. May 7, 1958.
  4. Sonatas No. 2, 3 & Leonard Rose. Washington, Library of Congress. March 3, 1961.
  5. Sonata No. 5. Leonard Rose. Stratford (Canada). July 22, 1969.
  6. Sonata No. 5. Leonard Rose. Puerto Rico. June 1, 1970.
  7. Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” WoO 46. Leonard Rose. London, Queen Elizabeth Hall. October 8, 1970.

Trios for Piano, Violin and Cello: 1944-1990

Complete: Schneider or Fuchs and Casals (1951 & 1953); Stern and Rose (1955-1980).

Other collaborations: Stern and Rostropovich (“Archduke”, Evian. 1990); Gilda Muhlbauer and Ann Goodman (Op. 1 No. 2, Marlboro, 1959).

Official recordings:

  1. Trios No. 2, 4, 6 & 7, with Alexander Schneider and Pablo Casals. August 1951, Columbia.
  2. Trios No. 1 & 5, with Joseph Fuchs and Pablo Casals. July 1953, Columbia
  3. Complete (including Variations and WoO works). Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose. 1964-1970, Columbia.

Video recordings:

  1. Trio Op. 1 No. 3. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. CBC, June 23, 1965 (live).
  2. Trio Op. 1 No. 2. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. BBC Studio. September 22, 1970.
  3. Trios, complete. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. French Television studio. September and October 1970. (The Variations are lost)

Live recordings:

  1. Trio Op. 1 No. 2. Joseph Fuchs, Pablo Casals. June 7, 1954.
  2. Trio Op. 97 “Archduke”. Joseph Fuchs, Pablo Casals. June 22, 1954.
  3. Trio Op. 70 No. 2. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. London, Royal Festival Hall. December 11, 1961.
  4. Trio Op. 1 No. 3. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. Edinburgh. August 27, 1968.
  5. Allegretto WoO 39. Trio Op. 97 “Archduke”. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. London, Queen Elizabeth Hall. October 8, 1970.
  6. Trio Op. 97 “Archduke”. Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovich. Evian. May 22, 1990.

Piano Quartet in E flat Major Op. 16 bis: 1958-1970

Live recording: Members of the Budapest Quartet (Joseph Roisman, Boris Kroyt, Mischa Schneider). Washington, Library of Congress. November 7, 1958.

Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat Major Op. 16: 1970-1990

Live recording:

  1. Kathleen Golding, Theresa Tunnicliff, Nancy Goeres, Robin Graham. Marlboro. July 28, 1984.
  2. Students of the Curtis Institute. Evian. May 22, 1990.

BRAHMS

Sonatas for Piano and Violin: 1955-1980

With Isaac Stern (Nos. 1 to 3) and Yehudi Menuhin (No. 1);

Video recording: Sonata No. 1. Isaac Stern. BBC Studio. July 29, 1973.

Live recordings:

  1. Sonata No. 1, Yehudi Menuhin. Prades. July 3, 1955;
  2. Sonata No. 1, Isaac Stern. Puerto Rico. 1975.

Sonatas for Piano and Cello: 1952-1980

With Pablo Casals (No. 1), Leonard Rose (Nos. 1 & 2), Paul Tortelier (No. 1).

Video recordings: Sonata No. 1. Pablo Casals. Puerto Rico. June 9, 1962.

Live recordings:

  1. Sonata No.1. Pablo Casals. Prades. July 2, 1953.
  2. Sonata No. 2. Leonard Rose. BBC Studio. June 10, 1962.
  3. Sonata No. 1. Leonard Rose. Puerto Rico. 1975.

Sonatas for Piano and Clarinet or Viola Op. 120: 1955-1975

With David Oppenheim (No. 1, Prades, 1955) and Pinchas Zukerman (No. 2, Puerto Rico, 1975).

Live recording: Sonata Op. 120 No. 2. Pinchas Zukerman. Puerto Rico. June 20, 1975.

Trio for Piano, Clarinet and Cello in A minor Op. 114: 1955-1962

With David Oppenheim (1955), Robert Marcellus (1962) and Harold Wright (1957).  Pablo Casals (1955 and 1962), Madeline Foley (1957).

Video recording: Robert Marcellus, Pablo Casals. Puerto Rico. June 9, 1962.

Live recording: David Oppenheim, Pablo Casals. Prades. July 3, 1955.

Trios for Piano, Violin and Cello: 1944-1980

With Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals (No. 1, 1959 & No. 3, 1952); Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose (complete 1955-1980); Erick Friedman and Madeline Foley (Nos. 1 & 3, Marlboro 1958); Gilda Muhlbauer and Frances Steiner (No. 2, Marlboro, 1958); Joseph Genualdi and Peter Wiley (No. 1, Marlboro, 1985).

Official recordings: complete, with Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose. 1964-1966 Columbia

Video recordings :

  1. Trio No. 2. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. CBC Canada. June 23, 1965 (live).
  2. Trios, complete. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. French Television Studio. September 1974

Live recordings:

  1. Trio No. 3. Isaac Stern, Pablo Casals. Prades. June 21, 1952.
  2. Tríos, complete. Yehudi Menuhin, Pablo Casals. July 8 & 9, 1955.
  3. Trio No. 1. Isaac Stern, Pablo Casals. Puerto Rico. May 6, 1959.
  4. Trio No. 1. Joseph Genualdi, Peter Wiley. Marlboro. July 31, 1985

Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor Op. 25: 1958-1997

With Alexander Schneider, Milton Katims, Mischa Schneider (Puerto Rico. May 7, 1958); Isaac Stern, Milton Katims, Leonard Rose (Seattle, May 19, 1962); Members of the Guarneri Quartet (New York, Alice Tully Hall. February 9, 1978); Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Paul Tortelier (Detroit. April 17, 1980); Jaime Laredo, Michael Tree, Sharon Robinson (date to be confirmed); Isaac Stern, Yuri Bashmet, Mstislav Rostropovich (Evian, May 9, 1997).

Live recordings:

  1. Jaime Laredo, Michael Tree, Sharon Robinson. Kaufman Concert Hall, New York.
  2. Leonidas Kavakos, Bruno Giuranna, Mstislav Rostropovich. Evian. May 31, 1992.

Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major Op. 26: 1958 – 1994

Live recordings:

  1. Members of the Budapest Quartet (Joseph Roisman, Boris Kroyt, Mischa Schneider). Washington, Library of Congress. November 7, 1958
  2. Henryk Szeryng, Milton Thomas, Frank Miller. Puerto Rico. June 9, 1962
  3. Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Leonard Rose. Puerto Rico. June 20, 1975
  4. Jaime Laredo, Choong- Jin Chang and Mstislav Rostropovich. Evian, May 20, 1994

Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34: 1960-1984

Live recording: Todd Phillips, Laura Hamilton, Ewan Wilson, Peter Wiley. Marlboro, August 4, 1984.

Other collaborations: Guarneri Quartet. Laredo and friends.

Lieder: 1955-1975

Live recordings:

  1. 3 Lieder. David Lloyd. Prades. July 13, 1955.
  2. Lieder Op. 91. Maureen Forrester, Pinchas Zukerman. Puerto Rico. June 17, 1975
  3. Lieder. Maureen Forrester. Puerto Rico. June 19, 1975.

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CASALS

Sonata for Violin and Piano: 1976

Live recordings:

  1. Isaac Stern. Barcelona. December 17, 1976.
  2. Isaac Stern. New York, Carnegie Hall. December 29, 1976.

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DVORAK

Piano Quintet in A major Op. 81: 1952-1961

Live recordings:

  1. Budapest Quartet. Library of Congress. November 11, 1960
  2. Budapest Quartet. Jerusalem. August 29, 1961. (Tapes lost)

Other collaborations : Kroll Quartet (1952), Guarneri Quartet.

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FRANCK

Sonata for Violin and Piano: 1948-early 50s

Joseph Fuchs ; Isaac Stern (to be confirmed).

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HAYDN

Trio in E flat Major Hob. XV:10: 1968

Official recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. 1968 Columbia.

Live recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. Edinburgh. August 27, 1968.

 

MENDELSSOHN

Trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 49: 1955-1980

Official recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. 1966 Columbia.

Live recordings:

  1. Isaac Stern, Pablo Casals. Puerto Rico. May 2, 1959.
  2. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. London, Royal Festival Hall. December 11, 1961.

Trio No. 2 in C minor Op. 66: 1974-1979

Official recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. 1979, Columbia.  

Video recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. Live 1976.

MOZART

Piano Quartet in G minor K. 478: 1961-1994

Live recordings:

  1. Members of the Budapest Quartet (Joseph Roisman, Boris Kroyt, Mischa Schneider). Washington, Library of Congress. November 11, 1961.
  2. Students of the Curtis Institute. Evian. May 20, 1994.

Piano Quartet in E flat Major K. 493: 1957-1992

Official recording: Isaac Stern, Milton Katims, Mischa Schneider. Puerto Rico, May 8, 1957 (live). Columbia.

Live recordings:

  1. Members of the Budapest Quartet (Joseph Roisman, Boris Kroyt, Mischa Schneider). Washington, Library of Congress. November 7, 1958.
  2. Sigrun Edvalsdóttir, Meredith Snow, Julia Lichten. Marlboro. August 4, 1985.
  3. Students of the Juilliard School (Aaron Serofsky, Dov Scheidlin, Eric Gaenslen). Evian. May 31, 1992.

 Sonatas for Piano and Violin: 1949-1960

With Alexander Schneider, Joseph Fuchs and Isaac Stern (to be confirmed).

Trio in B flat major K. 502: 1974-1979

Official recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. Columbia (tapes lost).

Video recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose (live). 1976.

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RACHMANINOFF

Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 19

Video recordings (live):

  1. Andante. Mstislav Rostopovich. New York. November 5, 1990.
  2. Andante. Mstislav Rostopovich. El Vendrell. June 2, 2001.

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RAVEL

Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello: 1961-1967

Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose (61-67); Arnold Steinhardt, Madeline Foley (Marlboro, July 29, 1961).

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ROREM

Songs: 1946-1971

Official recording: War Scenes; Five Songs to poems by Walt Whitman. Donald Gramm. Desto, 1971.

 

SCHUBERT

Trio No. 1 in B flat Major D. 898: 1951-1983

Official recordings:

  1. Alexander Schneider, Pablo Casals. 1951 Columbia
  2. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. 1964 Columbia.

Video recording:  Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose. French Television. July 28, 1963 (first movement only).

Live recordings:

  1. Sándor Végh, Pablo Casals. Prades. July 12, 1955.
  2. Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. London, Royal Festival Hall. December 11, 1961.

 Trio No. 2 in E flat Major D. 929: 1968-1969

Official recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. 1969 Columbia.  

Live recording: Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose. Edinburg. August 27, 1968.

Lieder: 1952-1962

Live recordings:

  1. Die schöne Müllerin, complete. David Lloyd. Prades, July 12, 1955
  2. Die Winterreise, 2 lieder. David Lloyd. Prades, July 13, 1955
  3. Lieder (5). Eileen Farrell. Puerto Rico, May 10, 1959.
  4. Der Hirt auf dem Felsen D. 965. Adele Addison, Robert Marcellus. Puerto Rico, June 15, 1962

Other collaborations: Die Schöne Müllerin, 8 lieder. Jenny Tourel. Prades, June 21, 1952

.

SCHUMANN

Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 1 in A minor Op. 105: 1952

Isaac Stern. Prades, June 21, 1952.

Lieder: 1959

Live recording: Lieder (5). Eileen Farrell. Puerto Rico, May 10, 1959.