Ida Haendel, violinist (b at Chelm, Poland 15 Dec 1928). Celebrated for flawless technique and beauty of tone, Ida Haendel has enjoyed great demand as a soloist, recitalist and recording artist, performing a large repertoire ranging from Bach to Bartók through a lengthy international career. She is particularly known for her interpretation of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. A child prodigy in her native Poland and a student of Georges Enesco and Carl Flesch, she emigrated to England prior to WWII. She gave recitals for British servicemen and appeared as soloist in concertos with many well-known British and European conductors. Haendel immigrated to Canada in 1952 and settled in Montréal, where she maintained a residence until 1989, when she moved to Florida. She has given recitals in Canada and performed with major orchestras, among them the Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver symphonies. In 1977, with a CBC orchestra conducted by Franz-Paul Decker, she gave the Canadian premiere of Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto. Her recordings are on the EMI and Decca labels; recently she has been making wonderful chamber music performances with Vladimir Ashkenazy. In 1991 she was made a Commander of the British Empire. Still performing in her eighties and giving master classes, Ida Haendel has two DVDs currently available, The Art of Ida Haendel (1982) made in Montreal, and Ida Haendel and Ilya Ilin - Recital (2007).