A truly well-educated and musically proficient man! He spoke many languages and owned homes in various countries. His trek here and there to give outstanding concerts was his gift to the thirsting public for great music.
He survived a bizarre childhood. His parents tried to keep the child prodigy angle going as long as they could by shaving his legs and putting him in shorts long past the time. I'm sure he had private trauma and created an impenetrable facade
As a Collector and admirer of the late Yehudi Menuhin I've been Collecting his Records both on Pre war 78rpm and LP Vinyl for over forty years and his best Recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto was the one that he made on February 5th,6th and 7th 1960 and because Stereo was a then a new thing the Recording was made on two tape Recording Systems the Mono Version was issued on ALP 1799 Red and Gold which I haven't got or want and the Stereo Version which I have got was issued on a white and Gold Record Number ASD 377 which he Recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted by Constantine Silvestry and that Version was his third Recording of the Score and his first Stereo Version and six years later for his fiftieth Birthday he Made his fourth Recording of the Score with Otto Klemperer and the New Philharmonia Orchestra Mono ALP Stereo ASD 2285 and fifteen years later he Made his fifth and last Recording of Score Published in 1982 with the Leipzig Gwenidus Orchestra Conducted by Kurt Maurer Record Number ASD 4280,and the two Previous Versions were made in 1947 and 1953 with Willhelm Furtwangler the 1947 with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra Record Numbers DB-6574 DB-6579 and the 1953 with the Philharmonia Orchestra Record Record Number ALP 1100
He's a world class violinist of Russian-Jewish extraction. One of his most unique recordings was a "jam session" he held with the Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar.
