Bibliographical Note

Maestro Yehudi Menuhin was born in New York on April 22, 1916 of Russian parents. As a child prodigy on the violin, he captivated the world with his extraordinary sensitivity and depth of interpretation. He made his orchestral debut at the age of seven, playing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. In subsequent years, he appeared in New York, Berlin and London and soon began making recordings.

He was warmly embraced by the great and gifted of his day, from Einstein to Toscanini, Bartók, Elgar and Casals. He was only 13 when Einstein surged backstage after one of his concerts and declared, “Now I know there is a God in Heaven!” Europe became the focus of Lord Menuhin’s life and he was given an honorary Knighthood by Great Britain in 1966. In 1970 he received honorary Swiss citizenship and in 1985 he became a British subject.

Lord Menuhin toured extensively all over the world and was greatly admired for his love of both Eastern and Western musical traditions. In 1974 he made a series of recordings with legendary Indian musicians Ravi Shankar (sitar) and Ali Akbar Khan (sarod).

In 1963 he established the Yehudi Menuhin School for music students at Stoke d’Abernon in England. He also founded yearly music-festivals in Gstaad (Switzerland), Bath and Windsor.

In later years, Lord Menuhin devoted himself to conducting and led most of the world’s great orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the English String Orchestra and the Asian Youth Orchestra. He was also actively involved with hundreds of cultural and charitable organisations.

Lord Menuhin received many honours and awards for his musical contributions, including the Nehru Award for International Peace and Understanding (India), the 30th Anniversary Medal of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) and the Kennedy Center Honor (USA). In 1993 a life peerage was conferred upon him by the Queen of England.

He published a number of books about music and violin playing, as well as his deeply moving memoir Unfinished Journey.

Lord Menuhin passed away on March 12, 1999 in Berlin, where he was to have conducted the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra. He was 82.