Born in Poland in 1928, Ida Haendel took up the violin at the age of three. Just short of her 80th birthday in 2008, she recorded this virtuoso recital CD. She still gives masterclasses. To play to this standard at such an age is little short of miraculous. Violinists, unlike pianists, usually have to give up far earlier. The big, fiery Saint-Saëns, Brahms and Wieniawski included here suit her best (though for some reason the pianist on the disc appears to have no name). Her account of Bach's Chaconne, old-fashioned to our ears perhaps, has the sense of an intense personal journey. The technique may no longer be flawless but a lifetime's immersion in music informs every bar.