Yehudi Menuhin, The Violin of the Century by Bruno Monsaingeon
Enhanced with exclusive, never-before-seen commentary by the director
Thank you for your understanding.
Cast
Program notes
Filmed at home, in Greece, Yehudi Menuhin tells the story of his life, which is the musical history of the century.
To leaf through Yehudi Menuhin's photo album is to cover the musical history of an entire century. He tells us about his life, filmed in his home in Greece, "commenting" about himself based on the documents we show him: the departure from Israel for the United States, his birth in 1916, his dear pianist sister Hephzibah, his teachers Louis Persinger (first violin of the San Francisco Orchestra) then Georges Enesco and Adolf Busch, the first time he played with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (in 1929, under the direction by Bruno Walter), his meeting with Bela Bartòk from whom he commissioned one of the masterpieces of the 20th century (the Sonata for Solo Violin)…
The countless archives that compose this film are a treasure-trove. Also featuring in this film are Furtwängler, Fricsay and Karajan because he was conducted by the greatest conductors; Rostropovich, Kempff, Fischer-Dieskau and Gould because he played with the greatest musicians, and Ravi Shankar and Duke Ellington because he was interested in the greatest geniuses wherever they came from.
Deceased in 1999, Yehudi Menuhin lives on thanks to this testimonial which is one among the many good things about this exceptional document.
Enhanced with exclusive, never-before-seen commentary by the director.
