• Most Respected Classical Music Platform
  • #classicalForever
TOP

Violinist Alexandra Tirsu Receives Ida Haendel's Stradivarius

In the coming days, Tirsu will record a range of solo repertoire on the instrument, alongside the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Donato Cabrera

 

London's J & A Beare has loaned the 1699 Ida Haendel Stradivarius to the 30-year-old Moldovan-Romanian violinist Alexandra Tirsu.

In 2021, Alexandra Tirsu was a laureate of the ARD competition, where she also received the audience prize. In addition, she has received prizes at the 2018 Seoul International Music Competition and the 2014 Osaka International Competition. Tirsu is currently a student of Janine Jansen.

With her new instrument, Tirsu is in the process of making her first recording, alongside the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Donato Cabrera. They will perform Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, the Beethoven Romances, and a new concerto by the Austrian composer Paul Lorenz — all of which will be recorded at Abbey Road Studios.

Ida Haendel played on the 1699 Stradivarius for the majority of her career, having first acquired it in the 1950s. In particular, she found the instrument to be of an excellent size for her smaller-than-average hands.

"Most good instruments are built rather heavily; I was very lucky to find this one," Haendel told journalist Jessica Duchen in 1986.

"[The violin] has a very beautiful sound and is a lovely-looking instrument. A lot of people think it is one of the best. It doesn't have an extremely loud sound — but then I never thought that the violin should be like an explosion!"

upcoming events

june 2025

14junAll Day29Sendai International Piano Competition(All Day) Hitachi Systems Hall Sendai (Sendai City Youth Cultural Center), 3-27-5, Asahigaoka, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Pref., 981-0904, JapanEvent Type :competitions Event Tagscompetition,piano

july 2025

11julAll Day25Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition(All Day) Harbin Grand Theatre, China, Heilongjiang, Harbin, Songbei District, 滨水大道 邮政编码: 150010Event Type :competitions Event TagsAlice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition,competition

CONTACT US
x

Get ALL your latest classical music news conveniently by EMAIL

Free – and trusted by 2 million+ readers monthly