Masterclass (Rec 1932 - 1953) [3 CD set]

Before Yehudi was a year old, the family moved to San Francisco, where his father eventually became superintendent of the Jewish Education Society. Menuhin began learning violin at the age of three under the violinist Sigmund Anker, who specialized in teaching child prodigies. He later studied with Louis Persinger and with the Romanian composer and violinist George Enescu. He gave his first performance as a solo violinist at the age of seven, appearing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alfred Hertz. Then, at the age of eleven, Yehudi astounded his audience at the Carnegie Hall with his interpretation of the Beethoven violin concerto with Fritz Busch and the New York Symphony Orchestra. This historic performance launched an exceptional career that continued to make history for more than six decades. Reviewing this debut, the New York Times stated: "It seems ridiculous to say that he (Menuhin) showed a mature conception of Beethoven's concerto, but that is the fact. When the bow touched the strings, it was evident that an exceptional musical intelligence and sensibility were behind the performance." When young Menuhin followed that sparkling success with a solo recital at Carnegie Hall a few weeks later, a police detail was called out to keep the overflowing crowd under control. Following his San Francisco debut, his extraordinary talent came to the attention of Sidney Ehrman, a San Francisco lawyer and philanthropist, who underwrote the young Menuhin's expenses for a number of years. Thus, enabled to travel, Yehudi, who was tutored by his family, continued his studies under Georges Enesco, the Rumanian violinist and composer in Paris. Also in Paris, he received instruction from the German violinist Adolf Busch before making his Paris debut in 1927 prior to his New York triumph. During repeated visits to Europe during the next few years, young Menuhin, while studying intermittently with Enesco, captivated audiences in numerous cities while performing with some of the world's greatest conductors. Yehudi Menuhin performed more than 500 concerts for allied soldiers during World War II, and went with the composer Benjamin Britten to perform for the inmates of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, after its liberation in April 1945. He went back to Germany in 1947 to perform music under the conductor Wilheim Furtwängler as an act of reconciliation, becoming the first Jewish musician to go back to Germany after the Holocaust. He experienced considerable physical and artistic difficulties caused by overwork during World War II and unfocused early training. Careful practice and study combined with meditation and yoga helped him to overcome many of these problems, and he continued to perform to an advanced age. Among the numerous honours he received over the years were: the French Legion of Honour and the Croix de Lorraine, the Order of Merit from West Germany, the Belgium Ordre de la Couronne and Ordre Leopold, and the Order of the Phoenix from Greece. The Royals Philharmonic Society's Gold Medal, an Honorary Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II, the Handel Medallion from his native New York City, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Peace Award for his "outstanding contribution and promotion of international understanding, goodwill and friendship among the people of the world through the medium of music." In 1969, Menuhin was unanimously elected as President of the International music Council of U.N.E.S.C.O. and was re-elected several times. In 1962 he established the Yehudi Menuhin School in Stoke d'Abernon, Surrey, another in Gstaad, Switzerland. He also founded "Live Music Now," a charity which provides a unique service to young artists and to the public. Through it, talented young musicians perform in hospitals, churches, schools, prisons, clubs and private homes, bringing music to those who are too old, too ill, too poor or too far away to attend performances in regular concert halls. He also established the music program at the Nueva School in Hillsborough, California. In 1990 he was awarded the prestigious Glenn Gould Prize in recognition of his lifetime of contributions. He received a Doctorate Honoris causa from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. In 1993 he was created a life peer as Baron Menuhin of Stoke d'Abernon in the county of Surrey. Lord Menuhin died in Berlin following a brief illness, from complications of bronchitis. Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE