Admirers of Ida Haendel, and of individual/charismatic violin-playing, needn’t hesitate – especially as the stereo sound, remastered by Paul Baily, is excellent throughout – in performances (1971-94) of four Concertos linked by composers who wrote one each. Impassioned and vibrant, Haendel makes for compelling if, at times, rough-hewn listening, always deeply involved in the music, spiced with concert spontaneity. In the Brahms, conducted by Rozhdestvensky, her first entry is akin to a rocket being launched, for a smoking-hot rendition, muscular and cossetted, two Haendel hallmarks also evident in the other Concertos here. The Sibelius with Berglund, a masterly Sibelian, is of a magnetic partnership (they recorded the Sibelius in Bournemouth), notably poised in the Finale. The Britten was also taped in Bournemouth. In London with Andrew Davis, Haendel confirms her identification with it, deeply committed. The Elgar (the one account here that isn’t from the Royal Albert Hall) is as confiding as it is extrovert, wonderfully supported by Sir Adrian, not as expansive as their recording if still broad, closer to the four live readings I heard from her (Andrew Davis twice, Haitink, John Pritchard). This collaboration with Boult may well be this release’s highlight from a very recommendable set. ICA Classics ICAC 5185 (2 CDs).
ICA Classics releases Ida Haendel playing Violin Concertos by Brahms, Britten, Elgar and Sibelius.
