Yehudi Menuhin was one of the greatest violinists of the twentieth century, a child prodigy who matured into a revered musician, conductor, and humanitarian. Born in New York to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents and raised in San Francisco, he displayed astonishing talent almost from infancy.
He made his concert debut at the age of seven and by his early teens was performing with the world's leading orchestras, his recording of the Elgar Violin Concerto — conducted by the elderly composer himself when Menuhin was sixteen — becoming legendary. Audiences and critics marveled that a child could play with such maturity, depth, and beauty of tone.
Menuhin's interests ranged far beyond the concert hall. After the Second World War he played for survivors in the liberated concentration camps, and he later took the controversial, generous step of performing with the German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler to aid reconciliation. He championed contemporary composers, explored Indian classical music in a famous collaboration with the sitarist Ravi Shankar, and founded music schools and festivals.
In his later decades he turned increasingly to conducting and to humanitarian causes, becoming a tireless advocate for human rights, education, and cross-cultural understanding. Settling in Britain, he was showered with honors and ultimately made a life peer. A musician of rare spiritual seriousness, he died in 1999 while still active as a conductor.