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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Beethoven: The Complete Violin Sonatas Vol.II
Yehudi Menuhin, Wilhelm Kempff
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach : Violin Concertos - Orchestral Suites
Yehudi Menuhin, Bath Festival Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 20 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grappelli & Menuhin - Their Best
Stéphane Grappelli, Yehudi Menuhin
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 14 Jul 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Friends in Music
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 7 Sep 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach Violin Concerto's No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041, No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1042 & No. 3 in D Minor, BWV 1043
Yehudi Menuhin, Bath Festival Orchestra
Concertos - Released by MVE on 12 Feb 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Menuhin & Grappelli Play Berlin, Porter, Kern, Rodgers, Hart
Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Feb 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 7 & 10
Yehudi Menuhin, Hephzibah Menuhin
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 15 May 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruch: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Yehudi Menuhin, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 2 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gershwin: Summertime
Yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 17 May 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos Brandebourgeois - Concertos pour violon
Bath Festival Chamber Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 6 Oct 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2; Suite No. 2
Yehudi Menuhin, Minnesota Orchestra, Antal Doráti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 by Yehudi Menuhin
Ferenc Fricsay, Yehudi Menuhin, RIAS Symphonie-Orchester
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 5 Feb 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Yehudi Menuhin Legendary Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 2 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Corelli : 12 Violin Sonatas, Op. 5
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 22 Jan 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Yehudi! - The Art of Menuhin (compilation)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 22 Jan 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 25; Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 in A Major, Op. 11
Yehudi Menuhin, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Hephzibah Menuhin
Classical - Released by Past Classics on 12 Jun 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: The Abduction from the Seraglio
Opera - Released by Chandos on 1 May 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Violin Concertos
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 3 Jun 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruch & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Oct 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Edward Elgar, 'Enigma' Variations, Op. 36
Classical - Released by Classical.com Music on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: Danses populaires roumaines, Sz. 56 (Arranged for Violin and Piano by Zoltán Székely, Mono Version)
Yehudi Menuhin, Marcel Gazelle
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1952
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo