SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Razumovsky Trust Gala:  featuring Ida Haendel (violin) and other artists. Wigmore Hall, London. 24. 6.2008. (ED)


A  rare London appearance by Ida Haendel seemed too interesting to miss. Long ago she earned my respect as the last surviving prominent pupil of George Enescu and the bearer of a unique musical heritage. There is also no denying that Miss Haendel was, and still is, an irrepressible and idiosyncratic force of nature. But, alas, I fear her biography went a  little too far in stating “…at 70 she still has much to offer” when referring to the  current quality of her playing.

Throughout a seemingly innocuous programme of Corelli, Sarasate, and Saint-Saens, Ida Haendel was frequently challenged by intonation and phrasing, even at the too stately tempi adopted by the accompanist Olga Sitkovetsky, whose playing also suffered as a result.

The second half included unprogrammed performances by Guro Kleven Hagen of Wieniawski’s Polonaise in D major, winner of the Ida Haendel Scholarship from the Razumovsky Trust, and David Cohen playing Schubert’s Arpeggione sonata. These performances at least , raised the overall standard of the evening, as did the playing in Vivaldi’s concerto for four violins in B minor.

Earlier in the concert Anna-Liisa Bezrodny performed Grieg’s third violin sonata and Ravel’s Tzigane with Olga Sitkovetsky. Though both works presented little technical challenge they did show a sizeable musical understanding. Bezrodny is an artist worth noting for the future.

Evan Dickerson


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