Thanks for the questions!
Yes, her autobiography is very interesting indeed. For me, as a frustrated violinist, the early pages where, as a three year old she describes picking up her sister's fiddle and simply re-producing the song her mother was singing, are really quite moving. The biography, in many ways, debunks the whole idea of 'glamour' in a virtuoso's career. It seems to be a series of disappointments and frustrations. AND she was a woman in what was then a very male orientated profession. The spectre of Yehudi Menuhin, surely the greatest violin prodigy of modern times, looms large. Whatever Ida Haendel did, Menuhin did better.
The relationship between the young Ida and her father is described in great detail. He suffered her defeats and celebrated her triumphs and was a tower of strength throughout his life.
All in all, it's a super book BUT it's very hard to come by. It goes for tremendous amounts on both eBay and Amazon and I'm lucky in that my lovely wife bought me one for Christmas last year. £65 for a well used , ex-library copy which is now one of my most beloved possessions!
Yes, we did see her at the Isserlis talk. A both joyful and sad occasion. To see Ida, the last representative of that generation of violinists, including Menuhin, Heifetz, Stern, Milstein, Ginette Neveu, Josef Hassid and Oistrakh was a truly inspiring experience.
Yes, her autobiography is very interesting indeed. For me, as a frustrated violinist, the early pages where, as a three year old she describes picking up her sister's fiddle and simply re-producing the song her mother was singing, are really quite moving. The biography, in many ways, debunks the whole idea of 'glamour' in a virtuoso's career. It seems to be a series of disappointments and frustrations. AND she was a woman in what was then a very male orientated profession. The spectre of Yehudi Menuhin, surely the greatest violin prodigy of modern times, looms large. Whatever Ida Haendel did, Menuhin did better.
The relationship between the young Ida and her father is described in great detail. He suffered her defeats and celebrated her triumphs and was a tower of strength throughout his life.
All in all, it's a super book BUT it's very hard to come by. It goes for tremendous amounts on both eBay and Amazon and I'm lucky in that my lovely wife bought me one for Christmas last year. £65 for a well used , ex-library copy which is now one of my most beloved possessions!
Yes, we did see her at the Isserlis talk. A both joyful and sad occasion. To see Ida, the last representative of that generation of violinists, including Menuhin, Heifetz, Stern, Milstein, Ginette Neveu, Josef Hassid and Oistrakh was a truly inspiring experience.
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