0:00:02 > 0:00:04ORCHESTRAL ACCOMPANIMENT BEGINS
0:00:13 > 0:00:19Yehudi Menuhin was the iconic violin virtuoso of the 20th century.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25In this programme, we'll see and hear some of his greatest
0:00:25 > 0:00:29performances, drawn from the BBC television archives.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32From the drama of Beethoven...
0:00:36 > 0:00:38..and the charm of Mozart...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43..to his classic appearance on Blue Peter.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47That's most unusual, I don't think I've heard that piece before.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49It's a curiosity.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51There are duets with Stephane Grappelli.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55And we'll be talking to his biographer,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58former TV producer Humphrey Burton.
0:00:58 > 0:00:59Yehudi was like a bird.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02You don't expect a bird not to fly, birds fly every day
0:01:02 > 0:01:03and musicians make music every day.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07And that's what he wanted to do more than anything else in the world.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12I'm at the BBC studios in Maida Vale in West London.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16It was here in April 1943 that Yehudi Menuhin made
0:01:16 > 0:01:19this recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22He'd been flown in by the RAF from North America
0:01:22 > 0:01:23especially for the occasion.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26A hazardous journey across the wartime Atlantic.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35It was an eagerly awaited occasion.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38The broadcast helped cement his relationship with Britain
0:01:38 > 0:01:39and with the BBC.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41In the years after the war,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44as television grew in its power and importance,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Menuhin became one of its most recognisable musical faces.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Born in New York of Russian Jewish parents,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56he was an astounding musical prodigy.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59He made his debut at the age of seven.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Albert Einstein heard him and remarked,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03"Now I know there is a God in heaven."
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Another admirer was the English composer Sir Edward Elgar.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09He conducted his Violin Concerto
0:02:09 > 0:02:13with the 16-year-old Menuhin, who later became a British citizen.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17An intensely spiritual and humanitarian man,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20he played for the survivors of the Belsen concentration camp
0:02:20 > 0:02:23after five years touring with Allied troops.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Wherever he went, he spoke about music
0:02:25 > 0:02:27as if it were a civilising force.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31And he somehow gave music a sense of dignity and a sense of purpose,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35which in this world full of hype, is not always the case.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38The 1950s saw him at the height of his powers,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42as here, performing his favourite work, Beethoven's Violin Concerto.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48In 1960, he was at the BBC giving a Sunday recital which included
0:02:48 > 0:02:51a work he'd studied first with his beloved teacher,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54the Romanian composer George Enescu,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Cesar Franck's Violin Sonata.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00He'd recorded it first with his sister Hephzibah in 1936.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03A quarter of a century on, they were back performing it together.
0:06:05 > 0:06:06Good night.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Menuhin was 11 when he made his New York debut
0:06:08 > 0:06:11playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Dressed in a pair of velvet knickerbockers,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16he gave a performance which, in the words of one contemporary critic,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20"Takes away the breath and leaves you groping tirelessly
0:06:20 > 0:06:23"among the mysteries of the human spirit."
0:06:23 > 0:06:26It was a work that he was to return to again and again.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28Playing it for soldiers during the war,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30at the opening conference of the United Nations,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34in a devastated Berlin, with Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36And here at the BBC, in a studio performance
0:06:36 > 0:06:41with the London Symphony Orchestra, and an energetic young Colin Davis.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17When did he really become a household name in Britain?
0:17:17 > 0:17:22I think the time when he really got under the skin of the general public
0:17:22 > 0:17:24in this country was in the late '50s,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27when he started to live here with his second wife.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30She finally insisted that they move to Europe.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32And they lived in a lovely house up in Highgate.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35And he was on the radio in the Brains Trust,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39and he was playing concerts on television and broadcasting
0:17:39 > 0:17:43and giving concerts at the Albert Hall, he was a very familiar figure.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46And in a way he was, for the general music loving public,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48he was Mr Violin.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51These days you probably think Heifitz or Kreisler,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54but in those days, Menuhin was the name on everybody's lips.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56It coincided with the violin.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Next, some rare broadcasts from the 1960s.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Back then, most television programmes were transmitted live.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04The only way to save them for posterity was literally
0:18:04 > 0:18:06to point a film camera at the TV screen.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Hence the picture quality is at times a little ropey.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11But the sound is excellent.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14And as for the quality of the musicianship,
0:18:14 > 0:18:15well, judge that for yourself.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02I love Bartok and I think he's perhaps...
0:24:02 > 0:24:06certainly one of the greatest of our composers of our day.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09And because I knew him - I knew him during the last two years
0:24:09 > 0:24:15of his life in New York - he wrote the Sonata for Violin alone for me.
0:24:15 > 0:24:21And because his style speaks of a background which, as Enescu's,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25has always been, for me, irresistible.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30It speaks of thousands of years, of generations back.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Its origins come from so far away.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38And they have continually fertilised our culture
0:24:38 > 0:24:42and I think Bartok is perhaps the crystallisation
0:24:42 > 0:24:46of this interchange of cultures.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Yehudi Menuhin is going to play the last movement
0:25:41 > 0:25:45of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46APPLAUSE
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Did he like being on television?
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Did he like the atmosphere in the television studio,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53the lights and the cameras pointing at him
0:31:53 > 0:31:56and the need to do things over and over again?
0:31:56 > 0:32:00Yehudi was supremely unaware of the technical side of television.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03He'd been in the recording business since he was a boy of nine or ten.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07They first came out to his home in San Francisco
0:32:07 > 0:32:11with recording equipment for the RCA record company.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13That side of things he took for granted.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17He wasn't in the least bit self-preening.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20He didn't require a mirror to look at how his make-up was
0:32:20 > 0:32:23before he went on screen and things like that.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26What you got was what he was. He was the same off as he was on screen.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28And presumably he realised that television gave him
0:32:28 > 0:32:33a fantastic opportunity to reach out to the broadest possible audience.
0:32:33 > 0:32:38I do remember that we all thought that Yehudi was good for a strong interview.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42We'd have him on the Monitor arts programme whenever we could.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44He'd be singing the praises of Indian music.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46He discovered Indian music when he toured India in the '50s
0:32:46 > 0:32:50and then he wanted the whole world to enjoy the music as much as he did.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54And he played it and he stood on his head in front of the cameras.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57I think he conducted a symphony orchestra in Germany once
0:32:57 > 0:32:59standing on his head. Can you imagine?
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Bah-bah-bah-bah! Close the legs. Bah-bah-bah-bah! Open the legs.
0:33:02 > 0:33:09I will play for you now the Prelude from the E major Partita by Bach.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15APPLAUSE
0:36:30 > 0:36:33APPLAUSE
0:36:46 > 0:36:50Over the years, Menuhin must've introduced millions of viewers
0:36:50 > 0:36:53to the delights of Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Bach.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01But in the early 1970s, he revealed a very different side of himself.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03When he worked with Stephane Grappelli,
0:37:03 > 0:37:08which is something Michael Parkinson and his producer made happen,
0:37:08 > 0:37:10he was fulfilling a childhood dream.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14When he'd heard Gypsies playing when he was ten years old,
0:37:14 > 0:37:18living in Romania for the summer with his teacher, Enescu,
0:37:18 > 0:37:20he met the Gypsies, heard them play
0:37:20 > 0:37:23and he longed to be able to improvise the way they did.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26He thought he was a clos... He wasn't.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30In fact, he didn't have very much of the improvisatory instinct.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33He needed to have the dots in front of him.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35APPLAUSE
0:40:42 > 0:40:45APPLAUSE
0:40:48 > 0:40:52When did you first become aware of the existence of Stephane Grappelli?
0:40:52 > 0:40:53About ten years ago
0:40:53 > 0:40:58when a friend of mine gave me some records of Stephane Grappelli.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00I had never heard a jazz fiddle before
0:41:00 > 0:41:05and I was completely overwhelmed with his extraordinary facility,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09technique, imagination, fantasy, rhythm,
0:41:09 > 0:41:10and this is the first time we've met.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13I've been looking forward to this for ten years.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16It's a great compliment for me. Thank you very much.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19Stephane, when did you first come across Mr Menuhin's work?
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Well, I know Mr Menuhin when he was very young.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25The first time I saw him
0:41:25 > 0:41:32he was about 15 or 16 when he was the most talented young violinist.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37Do you think that music can be a real power for good in the world or
0:41:37 > 0:41:40that it is never any more than a kind of pleasant pastime for the listener?
0:41:40 > 0:41:43I think it is a formative influence,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46especially on those who make it themselves.
0:41:46 > 0:41:54But one has to be very wary of putting too much faith in any one activity.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58Nothing can replace a good heart and a sensible head
0:41:58 > 0:42:02and I've known some of the best musicians who are spontaneous,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05where we know even some of the pop groups
0:42:05 > 0:42:08who make music and make some good music
0:42:08 > 0:42:13- and nonetheless are people who have ruined their lives.- Yes.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17So I would hesitate to lay down the rule
0:42:17 > 0:42:21and say that music is the great redeemer.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25It is an extraordinary thing and, I think, the most wonderful of arts.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28For my taste and those of my friends and audience,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32it is one of the great inspiring elements in life.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35But to say that if only people played music
0:42:35 > 0:42:38they would be better or there'd be no wars, I'm not sure of that.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42Menuhin was always happy to proselytise on behalf of classical music
0:42:42 > 0:42:46and would take any opportunity to reach out to a wider or younger audience,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49as we see in this appearance on Blue Peter.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52MUSIC: BLUE PETER THEME
0:42:56 > 0:43:02This violin is 370 years old and it is a piece of musical history.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07It was made by a very famous family of Italian violin makers called Amati
0:43:07 > 0:43:12and, at one time, it belonged to one of the most famous violinists there's ever been -
0:43:12 > 0:43:13Niccolo Paganini -
0:43:13 > 0:43:17and he was 13 years old when he gave his first public concert.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22But this boy was only six years old when he gave his first concert.
0:43:22 > 0:43:27That was in America in 1922 and his name is Yehudi Menuhin.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31Mr Menuhin has very kindly come along to the Blue Peter studio today
0:43:31 > 0:43:34- straight from his latest American tour. Hello, Mr Menuhin.- Hello.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Delighted you could come along because we knew you were
0:43:37 > 0:43:39the one person to be able to tell us more about Paganini's violin.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42First of all, it seems to me it is a very small violin.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46It is just under a half-sized violin, I would imagine,
0:43:46 > 0:43:50and it must have been a thrill for Paganini to have received
0:43:50 > 0:43:53such a beautiful violin at that age and to be able to work on it.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55Do you think you could still play on it now?
0:43:55 > 0:43:58Well, I can do the trick that Paganini did very ostentatiously
0:43:58 > 0:44:01when he used to cut off the three upper strings
0:44:01 > 0:44:04and only play on the remaining G string.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17And he'd go way up.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22Which was an unusual thing to do in those days.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26- It still has a pretty good sound. - It is a very sweet sound.- Yes.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29And, as Mr Menuhin said, he's going to play Paganini's version
0:44:29 > 0:44:32of an operatic aria called Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento.
0:44:32 > 0:44:34He's playing the melody
0:44:34 > 0:44:37and accompanying himself with the left-hand pizzicato.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25That's most unusual. I don't think I've heard that piece before.
0:45:25 > 0:45:26It's a curiosity. Of course,
0:45:26 > 0:45:31Paganini is much better known for the Theme to the 24th Caprice.
0:45:31 > 0:45:32It goes like this.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56Lovely. Thank you very much for sparing time to come along today.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58- Thank you, I've enjoyed it.- It's been a great thrill for all of us.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01Wonderful to hear Paganini's music played so beautifully.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05Did you get a sense from him that he was happiest as a soloist,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08as a man out the front, or was he actually more interested
0:46:08 > 0:46:11in a more collaborative form of music-making?
0:46:11 > 0:46:14It seems to me that Yehudi is a universal musician.
0:46:14 > 0:46:19He'd grown up in a great tradition of solo virtuosos.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22He could play all the great concertos before he was...
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Or almost before he was in his teens.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30He notoriously played Bach, Beethoven and Brahms in one concert
0:46:30 > 0:46:34and for the encore played half the Mendelssohn.
0:46:34 > 0:46:39That kind of, "I do my thing and I do it better than anyone else."
0:46:39 > 0:46:40That is one side of him.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44But also, as his career developed, he became far more of a conductor.
0:46:44 > 0:46:50I think, in many ways, a much better conductor than he is given credit for.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54Certainly, he loved making music with his friends.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27APPLAUSE
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Watching this archive, you get a sense that he was very happy
0:53:34 > 0:53:38with his lot, he wasn't laid low by the angst that can afflict
0:53:38 > 0:53:41some people blessed with the talent that he had.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43I think that was Yehudi's gift,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46that he gave off this air of assurance,
0:53:46 > 0:53:48of quiet spirituality.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52I'm not sure that, deep down, he was as comfortable
0:53:52 > 0:53:56with himself as you may guess.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00First of all, he was deeply concerned with the lot of the underprivileged,
0:54:00 > 0:54:03the races that didn't have a state, the Gypsies.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06And then of course he was deeply worried about education
0:54:06 > 0:54:11and his own school was a beacon of what should be done.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14I think that his gift was that he managed to,
0:54:14 > 0:54:17in his own personal life, stay positive.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20He'd been like that ever since he was a boy,
0:54:20 > 0:54:23he was always positive and always looking forward
0:54:23 > 0:54:25and always using music
0:54:25 > 0:54:30as, not a retreat, but simply the natural place where he lived.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33He said it was like a bird. You don't expect a bird not to fly.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Birds fly every day and musicians make music every day
0:54:36 > 0:54:39and that's what he wanted to do more than anything else in the world.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41As a boy, did you feel
0:54:41 > 0:54:46that you'd actually received a call, in a way, to be a musician?
0:54:46 > 0:54:49My father wanted to play the violin and never succeeded
0:54:49 > 0:54:52because he was discouraged.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Brought up by a very orthodox grandfather in Jerusalem
0:54:55 > 0:55:00and told that it was a rather frivolous pursuit.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04But his heart and soul longed for the violin
0:55:04 > 0:55:05and my mother was very musical
0:55:05 > 0:55:09and every Jewish family coming out of Russia,
0:55:09 > 0:55:11escaping from the pogroms or otherwise,
0:55:11 > 0:55:14almost invariably carried a violin case
0:55:14 > 0:55:20so you could say that the call was there and I followed it
0:55:20 > 0:55:24but I wasn't aware of anything more than that I wanted to play the violin.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26Do you believe in a God, as such?
0:55:26 > 0:55:37I believe in a...universal power which is...
0:55:37 > 0:55:39which integrates everything,
0:55:39 > 0:55:45all the elements, all of life, inorganic, organic,
0:55:45 > 0:55:53and there is this universe which hangs together on basic laws
0:55:53 > 0:55:58and that we will never know the mysteries which are all around us.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01To finish this celebration of Menuhin at the BBC,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04we find him once again with his friend Stephane Grappelli.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07The occasion is Grappelli's 80th birthday concert.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09Menuhin himself was past 70,
0:56:09 > 0:56:13but their vitality and energy is still exciting as ever.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30APPLAUSE