Born in New York, he was to become one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century.
His sisters became famous too - Hephzibah was a concert pianist and civil rights worker, and Yalta was a painter, pianist and poet.
The music school he founded in Stoke d’Abernon in Surrey, England in 1962 became world-famous.
In 1965 he was given an honorary knighthood and this was upgraded in 1985 to a KBE when he became a British citizen.
As an act of reconciliation, he was the first Jewish musician to perform in Germany after the war, when in 1947 he appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
His pupils included Nigel Kennedy and Nicola Benedetti.
In 1992 he was made an ambassador for UNESCO, and the following year he was given a seat in the House of Lords as Baron Menuhin of Stoke d’Abernon.
It’s interesting how he got his name. When his parents were looking for rented accommodation in New York, one place had impressed them. Having shown them round, the landlady then told them that the people who lived around there were so nice, and that she would never of course take in Jews. The Menuhins at once left and found other accommodation. When their son was born, his mother announced that his name would be Yehudi - which means Jew!
When in 1991 he was awarded the Wolf Prize for “achievements in the interest of mankind and the friendly relations amongst peoples”, his acceptance speech in the Israeli Knesset included the following condemnation of the occupation of the West Bank.
“This wasteful governing by fear, by contempt for the basic dignities of life, this steady asphyxiation of a dependent people, should be the very last means to be adopted by those who themselves know too well the awful significance, the unforgettable suffering of such an existence. It is unworthy of my great people, the Jews, who have striven to abode by a code of moral rectitude for some 5,000 years, who can create and achieve a society for themselves such as we see around us, but can yet deny the sharing of its great qualities and benefits to those dwelling amongst them.”
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Finally four short videos show something of his talent . . . .
It’s likely that this piece - a rondo by Spohr - was recorded when he was about 9 or 10 years old.
Uploaded by “Speedbid744”
This is from 1947, Moto Perpetuo by Paganini with Adolph Baller at the piano. Uploaded by “adamwas“
Adolph Baller is again the accompanist here. The music is “Salut d’Amour by Edward Elgar. Uploaded by “PurelyEssential”
This video is part of the wonderful occasion when Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli met on the Michael Parkinson show. Uploaded by “fostexD160”
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