Ida Haendel - Violine

Ida Haendel, born in Poland in 1924 (some claim it was 1928), has perhaps had the most modest career among the greatest virtuosos of the twentieth century, despite great esteem among both critics and the public. When she was only three she began playing her sister's violin, started taking classes at the Warsaw Academy of Music at seven, won the Wieniawski Competition at the age of seventeen, and started her career as a soloist two years later. In 1935, the family relocated to Paris, where Ida Haendel perfected herself through studies with Carl Flesch and George Enescu. Due to the war, her US debut came only in 1946, still in the following years most of her appearances were in Europe and Israel. She finally settled in London, where her premiere of Luigi Dallapiccola's Tartiniana seconda became an outstanding concert event. In 1991 she became a member of the Order of the British Empire.