Yehudi Menuhin
(New York 1916 - Berlin 1999)

He was a world-famous violinist, the most excellent musician and one of the most significant personalities of the 20th century. A violinist, conductor and pedagogue. he became famous as an infant prodigy, who became an artist carrying his audience with him through his playing style pure as crystal, performance simple and refined Pieces were reborn in his interpretation. He is one of the few artists who became a legend as a child and remained so until the end of his life.

He started to learn the violin when he was 5. He started to be a performing artist at the age of 6. He was eleven when as a student of Persinger he was introduced to the audience of New York playing a Beethoven violin concerto. The concert with the New York Symphonic Orchestra was a great success and his captivating artistic performance amazed the listeners. After that he played with several grand orchestras and famous conductors all over the world. During his concert tours in Europe he met G. Enescu and A. Busch from whom he continued taking lessons with short pauses.

He gave 500 charity concerts during the 2nd World War. He tried his best to ease the suffering of the soldiers at was with his music. He got a number of awards in America, France, Belgium and other countries too. 

With his charmastic personality he did his best to serve mankind and the universal musical culture. This way he gained close contact with Béla Bartók in America. After that he became the performer and propagator of Bartók's pieces. It is owing to him that there is a solo sonata for the violin, because Béla Bartók wrote this for him to his request. He performed it in New York in 1944 and then in Budapest in 1946.

He considered the musical education of the youth and the support of the banisheed very important, so he agreed, following Antal Donráti, to direct the Philharmonica Hungarica founded in Germany after 1956. he established a school and his dream was to make schools all over Europe where disadvantaged children can become entire human beings with the help of art.

In his books he was pleased to share his thoughts about music and art theory with the audience. he collected his practical experiences about playing the violin in his "Six Violin Lessons". We celebrated his 80th birthday in Budapest where he received the highest award for foreigner citizens from Árpád Göncz, the president of the republic.