Menuhin

[Allan MacLeod <allan.macleod@usask.ca>]

    I was shocked to hear of Menuhin's death.  He was getting old, but
he seemed to live so well that I expected him to go on forever.  As with
many people, what I admired and honoured in him was his humanity and
generosity and his support for young musicians.  And, of course, he
seems to have been the one professional musician with whom Gould had a
real friendship and rapport and also the one person whom Gould allowed
to depart from the prepared script.
    The year that Gould died was also the year that Thompson Hall opened
in Toronto and many great artists pereformed there that year.  Menuhin
was one of them and I remember going to that concert with great
expectation, expecting to hear not only a fine performer, but also a
tribute to Gould.  Menuhin did not disappoint us; he played the Bach
partita and sonata no. 2 with all the warmth that one expected from one
of his performances and dedicated it to the memory of Gould.  It was a
wonderful moment.
    My favouite recordings are the Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Kempff
(I played the Kreutzer on Friday evening as a tribute) and his recording
of the Beethoven Violin Conerto with Klemperer.  I am not certain I have
ever heard his Bach violin recordings, but as often happens with the
passing of a great artist, I shall have to look into them.
    Allan MacLeod