CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51

... I am deeply aware our repertoire ex-

of my great fortune panded to include a
to have had the privi- great number of sym-
lege for more than phonies by Mozart,
forty years of such Haydn, Beethoven
close association with and those of Schu-
Yehudi, which I could bert, which we later
not have foreseen recorded. Observing
when taken to the these works, so famil-
Royal Albert Hall to iar to us, being ap-
hear his first recital. I proached with fresh
clearly remember the eyes and Yehudi's
magic he created for fine musical mind,
us all. was a great experi-
It wasin 1958 that ence for us all.
it was suggested I He always looked
should put together a afresh, even at the
small chamber or- violin concertos so
chestra with players familiar to him, and
from string quartets they were always
and other chamber rehearsed with new
ensembles for the ideas before each
purpose of accompa- performance....
nying him in record- He was a very
ings and concerts generous man, ready
of the violin con- to praise and ac-
certos-an orchestra knowledge good sug-
that he would direct gestions from any
from his instrument. member of the or-
He later confided chestra, ready to
in me that he had Menuhin, with some of the children encouraged to "sing ond dance" through the help in so many
International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation.
longed for many ways those who ap-
years to direct his own concerto performances directly proached him for advice. Wherever we were on tour in the
with the players. In that last year we gave twovery successful world-and we made three extensive world tours in addition
concerts in the Royal Festival Hall, London, and such was to American and European ones-he never refused aspiring
Yehudi's enthusiasm that he accepted to become the artistic young and talented violinists who wished to play for him.
director of the Bath Festival the following year. His own And while we of the orchestra may have been exhausted by
Bath Festival Orchestra was the vehicle of his first experi- the travel, he would seemingly have enormous reserves of
ence in conducting and, for Yehudi, conducting was a new energy and would fill his free time in advising those seeking
learning experience. He wasvery modest about it, and as he his help. He wasalways the first to discover if any member of
mentions in his biography Unfinished Journey, he happily the orchestra had a birthday while on tour, and many parties
and readily accepted advice and suggestions from any mem- were arranged at short notice after a concert where memo-
ber of the orchestra. rable, hilarious, and impromptu performances took place to
During the first ten wonderful years of the festival Yehudi's great delight. ...

52 AMERICAN STRING TEACHER AUGUST 1999

 When his school began in 1963, teaching young children
was a completely new experience to him. The establishment
of the school had been in his mind for years, and we spent
hours on tour discussing how this should come about. Many
of his international flights were spent in writing at great
length to me about his ideas on violin playing-the culmina-
tion of this wasthe publication of his SixLessons onthe Violin.
During my eighteen years of teaching there from the
school's beginning, with fourteen years as its director of
music, I sawan increase in student numbers from fifteen to
thirty-five and a gradual increase in standards, particularly
with the advent of students from abroad. With his wonder-
ful charisma and charm Yehudi overcame all initial obsta-
cles, and his staffwere made to feel their contribution was a
vital part of the school's progress.
He was not dogmatic in his teaching progress. For
example, when the school began he was using the shoulder
rest that bore his name. Some years later he abandoned any
support between the violin and the shoulder, but he neither
insisted on the students using his shoulder rest at the start
nor did he insist on them abandoning it later when he did.
I believe that, secretly, he hoped most of them would, since
he felt that the resulting freedom in the left shoulder wasso
important. Ultimately he came to accept that this waywas
not always suitable, as the good Lord did not make us all
with the same length neck!
With his passing we can at least be grateful to modern
technology that allows us to have him with us still. In this
waywe may continue to marvel at the magic of his youthful
playing at his first concerts some seventy years ago which
astonished audiences around the world. His was an amazing
life dedicated to peace and music and that enriched the
lives of so many people throughout the world, all of whom
willnow be mourning him deeply.

~~~~~ AND DEPARTMENT OF DANCE

The Boyer College provides today's music students with the Violin Diane Monroe Cello Harp
traditions of the conservatory, the resources of a contemporary Sylvia Ahramjian Charles Parker Orlando Cole Sophie Bruno
major university, and the internationally recognized musical David Arben' Yumi NinomiyaScott" Kathryn Picht-Read' Margarita Montanaro"
and culturalrichness of Philadelphia. Jonathan Beiler" Barbara Sonies Deborah Reeder
LuisBiava" JeffieySolow Guitar
Degree programs are offered in: Davyd Booth' Viola Ricardo Cobo
Bachelor of Music MinSooChang Choong-Jin Chang' Bass Allen Krantz
William de Pasquale' Sidney Curtiss' JohnHood'
Diplomaof Music Larry Grika' Evelyn Jacobs Luise Anne Peterson
Masterof Music Arnold Grossi' Anastasia Solberg Henry Scott"
Professional Studies Helen Kwalwasser ItaWeller
Geoffrey Michaels , Member, Philadelphia Orchestra
Doctorof Musical Arts
Scholarship: andgraduate assistantships are available.

Htlen Kwalwasm; Artistic Advisor forStringStudies,

Professor ofViolin andChamber Music (left)
Luis Biavtl, MusicDirectorTemple University
Symphony Orchestra, Principal Second Violin andConductor
in Residence The Philadelphia Orchestra (right)

Not Pictured:
]tJfrey s,,/ow, Professor of Cello and Chamber Music
Orlando Cole, Professor Emeritus of Celloand ChamberMusic

AMERICAN STRING TEACHER AUGUST 1999

53