Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin Biography

(born April 22, 1916, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died March 12, 1999, Berlin, Ger.) U.S.-born British violinist and conductor. Raised in San Francisco, he made his debut at age seven. In 1927 he studied with George Enescu (1881–1955) in Paris; he returned to perform to tremendous acclaim in New York the same year and went on to astound audiences worldwide with his precocious depth and proficiency. From 1959 he lived in London, but he did not become a British citizen until 1985. He directed the Bath Festival (1958–68) and the Gstaad Festival from 1956. In 1958 he founded his own chamber orchestra. Often accompanied by his pianist sister, Hephzibah (1920–81), he also made recordings with the sitarist Ravi Shankar.