Ida Haendel was a phenomenon. The grande dame of the violin continued to serve as a jury member at acclaimed competitions and to teach masterclasses well into old age, always retaining her mental freshness and the physical capability to tour with spirit and verve. No other violinist has ever enjoyed such a long, successful stage career. Seventy years after her debut, Ida Haendel was still enthralling audiences with her inimitable combination of impassioned virtuosity and discipline. The recordings of the concertos by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Khatchaturian, Dvořák and Bartók, which she played pre-1967 under the baton of Hans Müller-Kray, then chief conductor of the SWR (SDR at the time) are among the most valuable treasures in today’s Southwest German Radio archive.