Yehudi Menuhin: A Life

Rating:
Summary: A superb, exhaustive piece of work
Review: This book is a great service to music lovers. It corrects the errors and fills in the lacunae from Menuhin's own masterful "Unfinished Journey". For me, as the father of two musical daughters, it was helpful in providing greater perspective on what Menuhin's precocity looked up from his parents' point of view, and the decisions they made to allow its expression. Exhaustive note, and each chapter contains a list of recommended recordings, so one can follow along in the musical journey if one chooses.

Rating:
Summary: A superb, exhaustive piece of work
Review: This book is a great service to music lovers. It corrects the errors and fills in the lacunae from Menuhin's own masterful "Unfinished Journey". For me, as the father of two musical daughters, it was helpful in providing greater perspective on what Menuhin's precocity looked up from his parents' point of view, and the decisions they made to allow its expression. Exhaustive note, and each chapter contains a list of recommended recordings, so one can follow along in the musical journey if one chooses.

Rating:
Summary: Draws upon contemporary sources
Review: Yehudi Menuhin is among the finest violinists of the twentieth century. Humphrey Burton's definitive biography of this outstanding musician begins with Yehudi's birth in New York to Russian Jewish immigrants. A prodigiously gifted youth, he gave his first solo recital at the age of eight and within the next five years because internationally acclaimed as a true prodigy of the violin. A visionary individualist quite capable of shocking traditionalists, Yehudi's postwar support for the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler, and his determination to restore the defeated German nation to the cultural and political reputation that had been so devastated by the Nazi's and anti-semitism brought him into sharp conflict with the Jewish political establishment and displaced persons in Berlin. Still later he spoke out against apartheid in South Africa, Denounced the Soviet Union's oppressive policy toward writers and dissident; and actively support a number of idealistic cultural, social, political, and musical projects. Burton draws upon contemporary sources, unpublished family correspondence, and radio interviews for this richly textured biography, including Yehudi's stormy marriages. Yehudi Menuhin is "must" reading for his legions of fans and students of twentieth century classical music and musicians.