YEHUDI MENUHIN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22631, 24 July 1935, Page 7

YEHUDI MENUHIN

SATURDAY NIGHT’S CONCERT Much Interest is apparently being created in the visit to Dunedin of Yehudi Menuhin, who -will give one concert in the Town Hall on Saturday night. It can easily be understood that anyone so gifted as Yehudi Menuhin must of necessity lead a different life from more ordinary people. For instance, Yehudi has never been to* school. In attaining such artistry in music he could have had little thought or time for other things. Yet his maturity and breadth of thought are surprising. Conversation with him reveals him as a “ thinker.” Not only has Yehudi Menuhin great genius, but he has also remarkable parents, who are devoting their lives to him, giving him every chance to develop his gift and individuality. It is almost impossible to obtain an interview with the artst, but his father has given an insight into the care which surrounds the life of Menuhin. Mr Menuhin, sen., is a small but very active man, of a volatile personality, who uses his hands in expressive gesture, and who generously gives the entire credit for the development of Menuhin’s individuality to his wife. He explains that when it was realised at an early age that Yehudi showed signs jbf the great gift which is his to-day the greatest care was taken to ensure that his mentality was not restricted by the ordinary or the commonplace. He has never been inside a schoolroom. Even in their conversations, his parents arc careful never to introduce the commonplace. Although he is .mentally a giant, Yehudi is still physically a youth, and the utmost care has to be taken to see that he does not do too much. That is why his father never allows him to be interviewed without first meeting the interviewers, to safeguard his being approached in a quiet manner. Left to himself, Yehudi would practise 10 hours a day, would give encore after encore. He would spend hours writing long letters to people who had made an impression on him. Fortunately for Menuhin his parents show a wise restraint and will not allow him to be exploited beyond Jiis strength. Yehudi Menuhin Ims more than satisfied the expectations of the music-loving public of New Zealand, and has responded to the insistent demands for more and more in a manner which can only be described as magnificent. The box plana, which are at the D.1.C., are rapidly filling-- --