2016 marks the centenary of the birth of the renowned violinist and humanitarian Yehudi Menuhin. American-born Yehudi Menuhin (New York in 1916) started taking violin lessons at the tender age of 5 and immediately displayed an outstanding talent. After having given concerts with prestigious European and American orchestras the Menuhin family moved to Switzerland in the late 20s and briefly afterwards to France. Yehudi Menuhin performed for Allied soldiers during World War II and with English composer and pianist Benjamin Britten for the survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after its liberation in April 1945. Only 2 years after the end of the war Menuhin who always aimed for fostering peace and inter-cultural understanding and never lost his faith in humanity went to Germany to play with the Berlin Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwängler as an act of reconciliation. He was the first Jewish musician to do so in the wake of the Holocaust. Having spent the years of war in the US Yehudi Menuhin moved back to Europe in 1955 where he died in 1999 in Berlin.
Yehudi Menuhin was indeed one of the most outstanding musicians of the 20th century, not only because of his great virtuosity and the intensity of his playing, but also thanks to his tireless work for understanding between different peoples. He was a citizen of the world and the architect of many bridges constructed through music, between Arabs and Jews, between East and West, between jazz and classical music (with Stéphane Grappelli), and between Indian and European music (with Ravi Shankar).
The International Foundation that bears his name organises and supports projects that aim “to give a voice to the voiceless”. Based in Brussels, it helps budding artists to be heard and works to draw attention to the indispensable role of art and to build bridges between different cultures. Over 450 European primary schools with more than 50,000 children have benefited from one of the programmes – getting exposed to the treasures of the arts and of cultural diversity every year.
To honour the great musician the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation is organising a tribute concert to be held on October 20th, 2016 at 8 pm at the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels.
True to Yehudi Menuhin’s humanitarian spirit and multicultural career, the concert programme offers a musical journey through jazz, classical, Indian and Gypsy music - in the company of Menuhin’s friends and past pupils, including his favourite student, Volker Biesenbender from Germany.
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