Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin was a world-famous violinist and conductor.

Many people believe he was one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. He was born in New York City in 1916. His parents were Moshe and Marutha Menuhin. They met in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem before moving to America. His family changed their name from Mnuchin to Menuhin in 1919. Yehudi grew up in a musical family with two sisters. One sister, Hephzibah, was a concert pianist and activist. The other sister, Yaltah, was a pianist, painter, and poet.

Menuhin began learning the violin at only four years old.

He first took lessons from a teacher named Sigmund Anker. Later, he studied with Louis Persinger at a studio on Hyde Street. He made his first public solo appearance in a pupil's concert in 1921. In 1924, he performed a solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony. He also studied with famous teachers like Eugène Ysaÿe and George Enescu. He spent over a year in Basel, Switzerland, studying with Adolf Busch. During this time, he even learned German and Italian.

His career grew very quickly as a young boy. In 1929, a twelve-year-old Menuhin played in Berlin.

He played music by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms for an amazed audience. A critic once joked that he looked like a penguin on stage. However, everyone stopped laughing once he began to play. He made his first concerto recording in 1931 in London. In 1932, he recorded an Elgar concerto with the composer conducting. Between 1934 and 1936, he recorded Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin. He even asked the composer Béla Bartók to write a new piece for him.

Menuhin used his music to help people during difficult times. During World War II, he performed for Allied soldiers. In 1945, he played for survivors at concentration camps like Bergen-Belsen.

In 1947, he went to Germany to play with the Berlin Philharmonic. He wanted to help heal the spirit of music in Germany. He also worked to bring people together through different styles of music. He played jazz with violinist Stéphane Grappelli in the 1970s.

He also had a deep friendship with the sitar player Ravi Shankar.

He spent his later years teaching and building musical groups. Menuhin founded the Menuhin Festival Gstaad in Switzerland in 1957. He also started the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, England.

He helped create the charity Live Music Now to bring music to communities. In 1975, he helped declare October 1st as International Music Day. He also started a competition for young violinists in 1983. His recording contract with EMI lasted for nearly 70 years. This was the longest contract in the history of the music industry.