Ricardo Odnoposoff, born in Buenos Aires, was one of the most important violinists of the twentieth century, but known only to a select few connoisseurs. The pupil of two legendary violin teachers, Leopold Auer and Carl Flesch, already enjoyed a brilliant international reputation when he finished second in the Ysaÿe Competition in Brussels in 1937, one of the world’s most important music competitions.

The winning duel between David Oistrakh and Odnoposoff is legendary. It is said that the Soviet juror used gaps in the statutes of the competition to manoeuvre the first prize to his compatriot. Whether this was true or not (the distance in the ratings between place 1 and 2 was marginal, to say the least), this compilation of original albums from the years 1945 to 1962 show a musical personality of outstanding format.

The box contains excellent and rare recordings: concertos by Mendelssohn, Bruch, Paganini, Brahms, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, chamber music, including Tartini’s “Devil’s Trill” Sonata and compositions by other Italian masters of the 18th century, as well as works by Debussy, Sarasate, Villa-Lobos, Kreisler, Saint-Saëns, and Chausson. In addition, there are numerous bonus tracks with works by Nin, Ysaÿe, Smetana, de Falla and Prokofiev.