Yehudi Menuhin
With the passing of violinist Yehudi Menuhin at the age of 82 on March 12, 1999, the world lost one of its truly gifted musicians. Primarily associated with classical music, Menuhin consistently sought diverse forums for his virtuosic playing. His collaboration with Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar resulted in two groundbreaking albums -- East Meets West and In Celebration, while his pairing with French violinist Stephane Grappelli yielded four classic albums: Play Berlin, Kern, Porter & Rodgers & Hart, Play Gershwin, Play "Jalousie" and Other Great Standards, and Tea for Two. According to classical violinist Isaac Stern, Menuhin was "an extraordinary musician and a great humanitarian. His style of playing, particularly in his early years, was a stunning patrician elegance with a very natural musical line."
Menuhin displayed a talent for music at a very young age. Starting to play the violin at the age of four, he made his professional debut with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra three years later. His performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall, in 1927, sparked international acclaim. Menuhin's debut album, recorded at the age of 16, received the prestigious Prix du Disque in France.
The oldest child of Russian-Jewish immigrants Moshe and Marutha Menuhin, Menuhin was still a baby when he moved with his family to San Francisco. A student of Louis Persinger, concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Menuhin advanced quickly on the violin. When Persinger moved to New York in 1925, Menuhin and his family followed.
Shortly afterwards, a wealthy attorney funded Menuhin's first trip to Europe. Although he failed to impress Belgian violinist and composer Eugene Ysaye, Menuhin was accepted as a student by Romanian violinist and composer Georges Enesco. He continued to study under Enesco until returning to the United States in 1927. Menuhin continued to attract attention throughout his teens. He recorded Elgar's Violin Concerto with the composer conducting and inspired Béla Bartók to compose his second Violin Concerto for him.
Despite his fame, Menuhin left the concert stage at the age of 19 and spent two years studying violin technique at his family's estate in Los Gatos, CA.
Upon his return, Menuhin picked up where he had left off. During World War II, he performed hundreds of concerts at military bases and hospitals. With the breakup of his marriage to Nola Nicholas, however, he found that he was losing his ability to play the violin. A relationship and eventual marriage with ballet dancer and actress Diana Gould provided the confidence necessary for regaining his skills.
In the aftermath of the war's end, Menuhin performed several historic concerts in Europe. In addition to joining with composer and conductor Benjamin Britten for a trip to Poland in 1947, which included a performance for survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, he became the first Jewish musician to perform in Germany since before the war. He collaborated with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler. For the next four decades, Menuhin remained one of classical music's most influential musicians. Moving to England in 1985, he became a member of the House of Lords in 1993. He later relocated to Switzerland. He continued to be revered, however, in the United States. President Reagan bestowed a Kennedy Center honor upon him in 1986. Throughout his life, Menuhin balanced his musical career with involvement in philanthropic causes, founding an estimated five hundred charitable organizations. In 1962, he opened a boarding school in Stoke D'Abergnon for musically gifted children. He later opened a similar school in Gstaad, Switzerland.
© Craig Harris /TiVo
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Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 (Original Recordings 1946 & 1947)
Yehudi Menuhin, Adolph Baller, Antal Doráti
Classical - Released by Ginkgo Classical on Apr. 30, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorak : Concerto pour violon - Vieutemps : Concerto pour violon en No. 4
Classical - Released by Puzzle Productions on Sep. 23, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky : Piano trio en la mineur, Op. 50
Yehudi Menuhin, Hephzibah Menuhin, Maurice Eisenburg
Classical - Released by Puzzle Productions on Sep. 23, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grandes Virtuosos De La Música: Yehudi Menuhin, Vol.2
Classical - Released by ns on Aug. 10, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Violin Concertos Nº 1 & Nº 2
Classical - Released by Classic Themes on Oct. 4, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Greatest Violinists Of The 20th Century - Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Hephzibah Menuhin
Classical - Released by Synergie OMP on May 11, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen, C.: Violin Concerto / Aladdin Suite (Excerpts) (Menuhin, Woldike, Felumb) (1952, 1957)
Yehudi Menuhin, Tivoli Concert Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Svend Christian Felumb, Mogens Woldike
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on Jan. 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven, L. Van: Violin Sonata Nos. 8 and 9 (Menuhin, Kentner) (1956)
Chamber Music - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on Feb. 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 / Sibelius: Violin Concerto (Menuhin) (1955)
Yehudi Menuhin, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Anatole Fistoulari, Sir Adrian Boult
Classical - Released by Naxos Classical Archives on Aug. 7, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niccolò Paganini, Vol. 1
Ruggiero Ricci, Yehudi Menuhin, Georg Schneevoigt, News Friends of music orchestra
Classical - Released by ArnebAudio on Apr. 17, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: II. Adagio espressivo
Classical - Released by The state51 Conspiracy Ltd on Apr. 3, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Béla Bartók: Violin Concerto
Yehudi Menuhin, Antal Doráti, The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Music Manager on Sep. 12, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: IV. Poco allegretto - Adagio espressivo - Tempo I - Allegro - Poco adagio - Presto
Classical - Released by The state51 Conspiracy Ltd on Apr. 3, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violins In Concert 3 (Yehudi Menuhin)
Concertos - Released by Ivano Recordz on Jun. 6, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Conductors: Wilhelm Furtwängler, Vol. 2
Yehudi Menuhin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wilhelm Furtwängler
Classical - Released by Jube Classic on Jan. 29, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Violin Concerto in E Major, Double Concerto in D Minor, Violin Concerto in A Minor
Yehudi Menuhin, Robert Chamber Orchestra, Festival Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Discover Classical Music on Nov. 28, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole, Op. 21
Eugène Goossens, The Philharmonia Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin
Symphonic Music - Released by Sunday Club Records on Mar. 6, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Concerto in D Minor - Paganini: Concerto No. 1
Yehudi Menuhin, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Discover Classical Music on Apr. 4, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classic del Mar, Vol. 5
Nathan Milstein, Carlos Bonell, Leonard Bernstein, Yehudi Menuhin
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on Jun. 17, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Highlights from Swan Lake
Efrem Kurtz, The Philharmonia Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin
Ballets - Released by Sunday Club Records on Apr. 7, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn & Bruch: Violin Concertos
Yehudi Menuhin, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Concertos - Released by Violet Hill Records on Nov. 22, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo