Ida Haendel

The admiration Ida Haendel’s playing commanded among fellow musicians nearly matched the limited awareness most listeners had of her name. Her expansive sound, confident and committed execution, and invigorating sense of phrasing were what earned that regard.

Born in Chelm, Poland, on December 15, 1928, Haendel began violin studies at three. At five she captured the Huberman Prize with a performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, and at seven she reached the finals of the Wieniawski Competition. For several years she and her parents journeyed through Western Europe, where she worked briefly with Enescu; the family later made London their home and she became a pupil of Carl Flesch. Her first Proms appearance came in 1937, and she returned to the series for the rest of her career. Around the time of her 1939 London debut under Sir Henry Wood, questions about her true age surfaced; because the city barred children under fourteen from Sunday performances, the eleven-year-old and her manager had concealed her actual age. Throughout World War II she performed for British troops and took part in Myra Hess’s National Gallery concerts, while also producing numerous recordings in the early 1940s. Only after her 1946 American tour, followed by yearly European engagements plus visits to South America and Asia, did her reputation extend beyond Britain. Although the family relocated to Canada in 1952, she divided her time between Miami and London. In 1973 she was chosen as soloist for the London Philharmonic’s tour of China under John Pritchard.

Her most emblematic works were the violin concertos of Sibelius, Elgar, Walton, Brahms, and Britten; both Sibelius and Walton voiced personal admiration for her interpretations. She introduced Dallapiccola’s Tartiniana seconda in 1957 and gave the 1980 premiere of Allan Pettersson’s Violin Concerto No. 2, which the composer had dedicated to her. The Sibelius Prize was awarded to her in 1982, and she was created a Commander of the British Empire in 1991. Though her profile remained smaller than her artistry warranted, conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, and Seiji Ozawa regularly engaged her, while younger violinists including Anne-Sophie Mutter and Maxim Vengerov held her in high esteem. Haendel died in Pembroke Park, Florida, on July 1, 2020.