Yehudi Menuhin – One Of The Great Violinists Of The 20th Century

Yehudi Menuhin was born on 22 April 1916 in New York City. He was an American violinist and conductor who spent most of his musical career in Britain. This former prodigy is widely famous as one of the great violinists of the 20th century. He played one of the finest violins, the Soil Stradivarius, made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari.

Early Life Of Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi was born to a family of Lithuanian Jews. His father, Moshe was a former rabbinical student and anti-Zionist. Yehudi was descended from a distinguished rabbinical dynasty. In late 1919, his father & mother became American citizens and changed the family name from Mnuchin to Menuhin. Menuhin’s sisters were concert human rights activist & pianist, Hephzibah, and pianist, painter, and poet Yaltah.

Yehudi Menuhin’s first violin instruction was by Sigmund Anker when he was just 4-years-old. His parents wanted Louis Persinger to teach him, but Louis refused. Menuhin displayed exceptional & amazing musical talent at an early age. His first public appearance was at the age of seven as a solo violinist with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 1923. After that, Persinger agreed to teach him and was with him on the piano for his first few solo recordings in 1928–29.

Career

On 12 April 1929, the Semperoper canceled its advertised programme to make way for a performance by the 12-year-old Yehudi Menuhin. A week before that, he played with the Philharmonic in Berlin under Bruno Walter to an equally rapturous response.

When he moved to Paris with his family, Persinger suggested Menuhin go to his old teacher, Belgian virtuoso, and pedagogue Eugene Ysaye. Yehudi had one lesson with Ysaye, but he didn’t like Ysaye’s teaching method and his advanced age. Therefore, he went to Romanian composer and violinist, George Enescu. He made recordings under him with several piano accompanists, including Hephzibah, his sister. Menuhin was also learning from Adolf Busch in Basel. He was living in the Swiss city for a bit more than a year, where he began to take German & Italian lessons as well.

World War II musician

Menuhin performed for Allied soldiers during World War II and, accompanied English composer Benjamin Britten. He went back to Germany in 1947 to play concerto concerts under Wilhelm Furtwängler with the Berlin Philharmonic as an act of reconciliation. On 30 September 1949, Yehudi and Louis Kentner, his wife’s brother-in-law, gave the first performance of William Walton’s Violin Sonata in Zurich.

Violins Played By Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin played a number of popular violins, probably the most renowned of which is the Lord Wilton Guarnerius 1742. Other than that, he played the Giovanni Bussetto 1680, Guarneri filius Andrea 1703, Giovanni Grancino 1695, Soil Stradivarius, Prince Khevenhüller 1733 Stradivari, and Guarneri del Gesù 1739. This great Violinist left the world on 12 March 1999.

Also Read: Joseph Joachim, An incredible former violin prodigy