Haendel / Holecek / Czech Po / Prague Sym Ida Haendel-Prague Recordings (1957-1965) CD

Such attributes as charismatic, singular, exceptional are somewhat overused today. Yet in the case of Ida Haendel they are justified. Born in 1928 into a Polish Jewish family, she was a child prodigy, playing Beethoven's violin concerto at the age of five... and leading master classes in London at the age of 85. After her Prague debut in 1957, she returned to the city throughout the 1960s, either to give concerts (most frequently with the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Karel Ancerl, and exclusively accompanied by the pianist Alfr?d Holecek at chamber recitals) or to work in the studio. This 5-CD box features the complete live and studio recordings Ida Haendel made in Prague from 1957-65 and deposited in the Supraphon and Czech Radio archives, with a number of them being released for the first time. Alongside "virtuoso pieces" and sonatas, the CDs include concertos by Beethoven, Stravinsky, Wieniawski, as well as her "flagship" Sibelius. Ida Haendel radiates an elemental, ecstatic musicality, one peculiar to Gypsy virtuosos, here refined into a perfectly cultivated form.

1. Preludium and Allegro 2. I. Larghetto 3. II. Allegro Moderato 4. III. Adagio 5. IV. Allegro Assai 6. Mose-Fantasia 7. Banjo and Fiddle 8. Habanera 9. Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20, No. 1 10. Hungarian Dance No. 17 11. Bot T?NC - Jocul Cu Bta - Allegro Moderato 12. Brul - Allegro 13. P?-Loc - Andante 14. Buciumeana - Moderato 15. Poarga Romneasca - Allegro 16. Apr?z? - Allegro 17. Saltarello 18. La Fontaine D'ar?thuse, Op. 30, No. 1 19. I. Sinfonia 20. II. Danses Suisses 21. III. Scherzo 22. IV. Pas de Deux - Adagio - Variation - Coda 23. I. Allegro Con Brio 24. II. Adagio Cantabile 25. III. Scherzo - Allegro 26. IV. Finale - Allegro - Presto 27. I. Allegro Assai 28. II. Tempo Di Minuetto, Ma Molto Moderato E Grazioso 29. III. Allegro Vivace 30. I. Adagio Sostenuto - Presto 31. II. Andante Con Variazioni 32. III. Finale - Presto 33. Romance in G Major, Op. 40 34. Romance in F Major, Op. 50 35. Scherzo - Tarantelle, Op. 16 36. Mazurka - Obertass, Op. 19, No. 1 37. Polonaise de Concert in D Major, Op. 4 38. I. Molto Moderato 39. II. Allegretto 40. I. Toccata - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 41. II. Aria I - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 42. III. Aria II - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 43. IV. Capriccio - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 44. Tzigane - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 45. I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 46. II. Larghetto - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 47. III. Rondo - Allegro - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 48. I. Allegro Moderato - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 49. II. Adagio Di Molto - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 50. III. Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 51. I. Allegro Non Troppo - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 52. II. Scherzando - Allegro Molto - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 53. III. Intermezzo - Allegretto Non Troppo - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 54. IV. Andante - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 55. V. Rondo - Allegro - Ida Haendel/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 56. Violin Concerto in a Minor, Op. 82 - Ida Haendel/Prague Symphony Orchestra 57. I. Allegro Moderato - Ida Haendel/Prague Symphony Orchestra 58. II. Romance - Andante Non Troppo - Ida Haendel/Prague Symphony Orchestra 59. III. Finale - Allegro Con Fuoco - Allegro Moderato - Ida Haendel/Prague Symphony Orchestra