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89-743: In the 1950s, with Yehudi Menuhin as its president, the AMC organised the first Western performances by Indian classical musicians Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan , as well as Vilayat Khan 's debut concerts in Britain. During the following decade, the Angadis introduced George Harrison of the Beatles to Shankar, initiating an association that saw Indian music reach its peak in international popularity over 1966–68. The Music Circle had its own London-based musicians, some of whom played on Harrison's Indian-style compositions for

178-559: A "seminal" influence on Western culture, due to his role in introducing George Harrison to Ravi Shankar. The meeting occurred on 1 June 1966 when the Angadi family hosted a dinner to honour Shankar, who was in the UK for a series of performances that would include his historic duet with Menuhin at the Bath Musical Festival . Although not invited, Paul McCartney also attended the dinner, since he

267-550: A dependent people, should be the very last means to be adopted by those who themselves know too well the awful significance, the unforgettable suffering of such an existence. It is unworthy of my great people, the Jews, who have striven to abide by a code of moral rectitude for some 5,000 years, who can create and achieve a society for themselves such as we see around us but can yet deny the sharing of its great qualities and benefits to those dwelling amongst them. Menuhin regularly returned to

356-669: A few concerts given by friends? Why not have an Aldeburgh Festival?" The English Opera Group would provide a core programme of opera productions, but the vision was soon widened to include readings of poetry, literature, drama, lectures and exhibitions of art. The first festival was held from 5–13 June 1948 and used the Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall, a few doors away from Britten's house in Crabbe Street, as its main venue, with performances in other venues such as Aldeburgh's fifteenth century Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul . It featured

445-672: A group, and the Angadis offered their services for film and recording work. One such musician was Keshav Sathe , a tabla player from Bombay who was with the AMC over 1957–59 before going on to accompany sitarist Bhaskar Chandavarkar , a student of Shankar's. On one of B.K.S. Iyengar's visits to London in the early 1960s, he began holding instruction classes at the Fitzalan Road house, with future author and yoga practitioner Silva Mehta in attendance. The date for when these evening classes continued in Iyengar's absence, 18 July 1961, has been cited as

534-567: A large house at 116 Fitzalan Road, Finchley . She and her husband founded the Asian Music Circle (AMC) in 1946, with the aim of promoting Asian arts and culture in Britain. With the Fitzalan Road property as their headquarters, the couple went on to organise music recitals, dance performances and cultural lectures throughout the West. Visiting performers often stayed with the family, which had grown to include four children by 1949. The third of these

623-619: A member of the awards jury at the 1955 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition , Menuhin secured a Rockefeller Foundation grant for the financially strapped Grand Prize winner at the event, Argentine violinist Alberto Lysy . Menuhin made Lysy his only personal student, and the two toured extensively throughout the concert halls of Europe. The young protégé later established the International Menuhin Music Academy (IMMA) in Gstaad , in his honor. Menuhin made several recordings with

712-569: A milestone collection of 80 CDs entitled The Menuhin Century , curated by his long-time friend and protégé Bruno Monsaingeon , who selected the recordings and sourced rare archival materials to tell Menuhin's story. From 1984 until his death in 1999 he was the first guest conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia with which he performed over 300 times (nearly half of which were between 1996 and 1998). He said that "working with no other orchestra gave me as much satisfaction as my work, as soloist and conductor, with

801-614: A musical instrument, with one on the human voice. Menuhin wrote some, while others were edited by different authors. In 1991, Menuhin was awarded the prestigious Wolf Prize by the Israeli Government. In the Israeli Knesset he gave an acceptance speech in which he criticised Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank: This wasteful governing by fear, by contempt for the basic dignities of life, this steady asphyxiation of

890-469: A part of the Aldeburgh Festival , an annual event co-founded by Britten in the late 1940s. Following Menuhin's second Indian tour, in 1954, he invited yoga teacher B.K.S. Iyengar to Europe. According to Massey, the popularity of yoga in the UK originates from the day that the Angadis hosted a demonstration by Iyengar at their north London home, attended by some of their friends. Massey also credits

979-595: A performance at London's Friends House . After Shankar's 1956 visit, arrangements for his annual UK concert tours were shared between the Music Circle and promoter John Coast. The AMC also brought sitarist Vilayat Khan to the UK for the first time, a musician considered to be the era's leading exponent of sitar, together with Shankar. The Music Circle maintained a list of London-based Indian musicians, who were available to visiting Indian artists, as backing players. In addition, these musicians performed locally themselves, as

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1068-647: A performance of Albert Herring by the English Opera Group; Britten's newly written Saint Nicolas ; and performances by Clifford Curzon and the Zorian String Quartet . Over the years the festival grew and took in additional venues in nearby Orford , Blythburgh and Framlingham . However, the lack of a large venue was holding back the further development of the festival until one of the largest mid-nineteenth century maltings in East Anglia , at Snape ,

1157-503: A portrait painter. Despite strong objections from her family and peers, the couple were married on Labour Day 1943. Patricia would draw inspiration from this disapproval during her later career as a successful novelist, beginning with 1985's The Governess . The Angadis lived on the top floor of the Fell-Clarke family residence, in the north London suburb of Hampstead , before Patricia's inheritance allowed them to purchase their own home,

1246-664: A pupil's concert. On 29 February 1924, he formally debuted at the Oakland Auditorium followed by a solo performance with the San Francisco Symphony under the direction of Alfred Hertz and a recital at the Scottish Rite Hall. His reputation preceded him to New York for his debut there on 17 March 1926, at the Manhattan Opera House. In 1923, when he was seven years old, Menuhin appeared as solo violinist with

1335-530: A village just outside Aldeburgh, became available. Britten, who had lived in Snape in the 1930s, had the vision that the largest of the malthouses could be converted into a Concert Hall. Most of the building's original character, such as the distinctive square malthouse roof-vents, was retained. The new concert hall was opened by the Queen on 2 June 1967, at the start of the twentieth Aldeburgh Festival. Two years later, on

1424-466: Is alive; its very shape embodies its maker's intentions, and its wood stores the history, or the soul, of its successive owners. I never play without feeling that I have released or, alas, violated spirits." Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the town of Aldeburgh , Suffolk and

1513-743: Is centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. The Festival was founded in 1948 by the composer Benjamin Britten , the singer Peter Pears and the librettist/producer Eric Crozier . Their work with the English Opera Group (which they had founded with designer John Piper in 1947) frequently took them away from home, and it was while they were on tour in Switzerland with Albert Herring and The Rape of Lucretia in August of that year, that Peter Pears said "Why not make our own Festival? A modest Festival with

1602-549: Is the longest in the history of the music industry. He made his first recording at age 13 in November 1929, and his last in 1999, when he was nearly 83 years old. He recorded over 300 works for EMI, both as a violinist and as a conductor. In 2009 EMI released a 51-CD retrospective of Menuhin's recording career, titled Yehudi Menuhin: The Great EMI Recordings . In 2016, the Menuhin centenary year, Warner Classics (formerly EMI Classics) issued

1691-869: The Ford Foundation and John D. Rockefeller 's Asia Society to stage the Living Arts of India Festival, in New York. His original choice for the festival's featured musical performer was Ravi Shankar, after Menuhin had attended a private concert by the sitar virtuoso while in Delhi, in February 1952. Shankar was forced to turn down the opportunity, in an effort to save his failing marriage to Annapurna Devi , and instead recommended his brother-in-law, master sarod player Ali Akbar Khan. The Living Arts festival, held in April 1955, marked both

1780-584: The Royal Shakespeare Company made regular appearances; Princess Grace of Monaco came to take part in a poetry recital. Sviatoslav Richter played for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother . The size and capacity of the Concert Hall enabled the Festival to present full-scale orchestras for the first time, and for many years Simon Rattle brought his City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to Snape. There

1869-697: The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Persinger then agreed to teach him and accompanied him on the piano for his first few solo recordings in 1928–29. Julia Boyd records: On 12 April 1929 it [the Semperoper ] cancelled its advertised programme to make way for a performance by the twelve-year-old Yehudi Menuhin. That night he played the Bach, Beethoven and Brahms violin concertos to an ecstatic audience ... The week before, Yehudi had played in Berlin with

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1958-806: The Yehudi Menuhin Archive , which includes sheet music marked up for performance, correspondence, news articles and photographs relating to Menuhin, autograph musical manuscripts, and several portraits of Paganini . Menuhin played a number of famous violins, arguably the most renowned of which is the Lord Wilton Guarnerius 1742 . Others included the Giovanni Bussetto 1680 , Giovanni Grancino 1695 , Guarneri filius Andrea 1703 , Soil Stradivarius , Prince Khevenhüller 1733 Stradivari , and Guarneri del Gesù 1739 . In his autobiography Unfinished Journey , Menuhin wrote: "A great violin

2047-604: The Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists , today one of the world's leading forums for young talent. Many of its prizewinners have gone on to become prominent violinists, including Tasmin Little , Nikolaj Znaider , Ilya Gringolts , Julia Fischer , Daishin Kashimoto and Ray Chen . In the 1980s, Menuhin wrote and oversaw the creation of a "Music Guides" series of books; each covered

2136-602: The 1950s, such that some sources give 1953 or the mid-decade period as the date of its founding. Patricia was appointed chairperson of the Hampstead Artists Council in 1953, and among her portrait subjects were Labour MP Fenner Brockway and the American classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin . Another notable connection was Benjamin Britten , the English classical composer, who served as the AMC's vice-president. That same year,

2225-726: The 1970s on Jalousie , an album of 1930s classics led by duetting violins backed by the Alan Claire Trio. In 1975, in his role as president of the International Music Council , he declared October 1 as International Music Day. The first International Music Day, organised by the International Music Council, was held that same year, in accordance with the resolution taken at the 15th IMC General Assembly in Lausanne in 1973. In 1977, Menuhin and Ian Stoutzker founded

2314-508: The AMC announced that its mission was to "[foster] the appreciation and study of the Music and Dances of all Asian countries, thereby creating greater understanding of Asian peoples and cultures". Also in 1953, Menuhin became the Music Circle's president, having made a visit to India, early the previous year, that had inspired him to enlighten Western listeners to the country's musical and cultural heritage. In his 2006 book The Dawn of Indian Music in

2403-479: The AMC's musicians played "much better than any Western musicians could do", the fact that they had daytime jobs and only played music part-time was reflected in their abilities in some cases. Harrison's next recordings in the genre were for the soundtrack to Joe Massot 's film Wonderwall , part of which was issued as his first solo album, Wonderwall Music (1968). Harrison started the sessions in November 1967, again at Abbey Road, with an unnamed tabla player among

2492-477: The Angadis' decision to bring over, from South India, two instructors who had studied Bharat Natyam in the authentic guru –kula tradition. The instructors – a married couple named Krishna Rao and Chandrabhaga Devi – went on to form a dance company with their students and tour throughout Britain, Ireland and Belgium. In October 1965, Martin was producing a session for the Beatles song " Norwegian Wood ", which featured George Harrison playing sitar, an instrument that

2581-511: The Asian Music Circle, and specifically Ayana Angadi, with "making the arts of the subcontinent a part of British cultural life". The Open University 's Making Britain project has similarly written of the AMC's achievements: "This organization introduced Indian music, dance and yoga to the British public, paving the way for musicians such as Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan ." In 1955, through his role as AMC president, Menuhin gained funding from

2670-675: The Bath Festival and the recording of their Grammy Award -winning album West Meets East (1967). During this time, he commissioned composer Alan Hovhaness to write a concerto for violin, sitar, and orchestra to be performed by himself and Shankar. The resulting work, entitled Shambala (c. 1970), with a fully composed violin part and space for improvisation from the sitarist, is the earliest known work for sitar with western symphony orchestra, predating Shankar's own sitar concertos, but Menuhin and Shankar never recorded it. Menuhin also worked with famous jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli in

2759-486: The Beatles , whose second feature film, Help! (1965), reflected the West's increased interest in Indian culture. While discussing the extent of this influence by the middle of that decade, author Ray Newman quotes from the book The New London Spy by Hunter Davies , who wrote: "Indian restaurants, Indian food, Indian shops, Indian cinemas, Indian concerts, Indian plays, yoga, gurus and contemplation are now all so much part of

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2848-427: The Beatles' work. When recording his first Indian-styled composition for the Beatles, " Love You To ", in April 1966, Harrison used a tabla player, Anil Bhagwat, at the recommendation of Patricia Angadi. Other AMC musicians appeared on the recording, playing tambura and sitar. Bhagwat, who was funding his university education through his musical activities, received £35 for the session and later described it as "one of

2937-502: The Beatles, including " Within You Without You " from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . The AMC is recognised as having introduced yoga into Britain, through the Angadis' hosting of classes by visiting guru B.K.S. Iyengar . The organisation had ceased operation by 1970, when Ayana and Patricia Angadi separated. Asian Music Circle co-founder Ayana Deva Angadi came to London from Bombay , India, in 1924, to gain

3026-686: The British ballerina and actress Diana Gould , whose mother was the pianist Evelyn Suart and stepfather was Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt . The couple had two sons, Gerard , notable as a Holocaust denier and far right activist, and Jeremy , a pianist. A third child died shortly after birth. In the 1960s and 1970s they lived in Highgate at 2 The Grove , a house later owned by Sting . The name Yehudi means "Jew" in Hebrew . In an interview republished in October 2004, he recounted to New Internationalist magazine

3115-496: The Concert Hall, with Pears in the role of Aschenbach. In 1976, in what was to be Britten's last Festival, Janet Baker sang the premiere of his dramatic cantata Phaedra in a festival that included performances by André Previn , Elisabeth Söderström , Sviatoslav Richter and the entire Rostropovich family. In 1979, Rostropovich conducted the Britten–Pears School in a performance of Eugene Onegin (with Pears as guest in

3204-494: The Festival as composer-in-residence. Imogen Holst introduced early choral music, and soon works by European composers rarely heard at that time in England were in the repertoire, such as Berg , Mahler , Schoenberg , Poulenc , Boulez , and Webern . Later, Copland , Dutilleux , Lutoslawski and Kodály were to come to the Festival. In contrast, John Dankworth and Cleo Laine , Joyce Grenfell , Peggy Ashcroft and actors from

3293-592: The Festival by Pierre-Laurent Aimard in 2009. In 2009, a suite of new spaces at Snape Maltings , including the Hoffmann Building's Britten Studio and the Jerwood Kiln Studio, was opened with the premiere performance of Harrison Birtwistle 's opera The Corridor . The 2012 Festival had Oliver Knussen as Artist in Residence, and the typically eclectic programme included new productions of Knussen's Where

3382-436: The Festival had to that date presented new works by over 75 composers, with world premieres of fifteen operas. Concert goers were over the ensuing years to see new works not only by Britten himself, but by composers such as Lennox Berkeley , Richard Rodney Bennett , Elliott Carter , Hans Werner Henze , Alfred Schnittke , Toru Takemitsu , Michael Tippett , Mark-Anthony Turnage and Malcolm Williamson , many of whom came to

3471-734: The German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler , who had been criticized for conducting in Germany during the Nazi era. Menuhin defended Furtwängler, noting that the conductor had helped a number of Jewish musicians to flee Nazi Germany. In 1957, he founded the Menuhin Festival Gstaad in Gstaad , Switzerland. In 1962, he established the Yehudi Menuhin School in Stoke d'Abernon , Surrey. He also established

3560-496: The London scene that when a grey Bentley drew into a Swiss Cottage petrol station recently and a 6 ft. 6 in. Sikh stepped out wearing a purple turban, green raw silk coat, white jodhpurs, gold slippers and an oriental dagger with a gem-studded hilt, the Irish attendant did not bother to take more than a passing glance." South Asian dance also achieved lasting popularity and influence in

3649-464: The Menuhins moved to Paris, Persinger suggested Menuhin go to Persinger's old teacher, Belgian virtuoso and pedagogue Eugène Ysaÿe . Menuhin did have one lesson with Ysaÿe, but he disliked Ysaÿe's teaching method and his advanced age. Instead, he went to Romanian composer and violinist George Enescu , under whose tutelage he made recordings with several piano accompanists, including his sister Hephzibah. He

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3738-489: The Philharmonic under Bruno Walter to an equally rapturous response. A newspaper critic said of his Berlin performance: "There steps a fat little blond boy on the podium, and wins at once all hearts as in an irresistibly ludicrous way, like a penguin, he alternately places one foot down, then the other. But wait: you will stop laughing when he puts his bow to the violin to play Bach's violin concerto in E major no.2." When

3827-584: The San Francisco Bay Area, sometimes performing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. One of the more memorable later performances was of Edward Elgar 's Violin Concerto, which Menuhin had recorded with the composer in 1932. On 22 April 1978, along with Stéphane Grappelli , Yehudi played Pick Yourself Up , taken from the Menuhin & Grappelli Play Berlin, Kern, Porter and Rodgers & Hart album as

3916-537: The Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra." In his Unfinished Journey: Twenty Years Later he added "It was a true inspiration to spend as much time with them [Sinfonia Varsovia] as possible, to enjoy the deep satisfaction I derive from our music-making together.". In 1991, he became Principal Guest Conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra , a position he also held until his death. In 1990 Menuhin

4005-418: The UK for the first time. British audiences had been introduced to the discipline by Uday Shankar 's troupe during the 1920s, but South Asian dancers had struggled for recognition over the ensuing decades. According to cultural historian Naseem Khan , a "new story" began in 1966 when the Asian Music Circle presented the country's first formal Indian dances classes. The enduring success of these classes rested on

4094-461: The West , author Peter Lavezzoli writes of the violinist's role in the AMC: "Menuhin was the ideal candidate for its leadership. In light of his relentless work schedule, he set about achieving his aim with remarkable speed." Britten also made a tour of India, in 1956, and began incorporating Indian and other Asian influences in his composing. In June 1958, the AMC presented an Indian music and dance program as

4183-472: The West, during the second half of the 1960s. The meeting at Fitzalan Road is covered in Ajoy Bose 's 2021 documentary The Beatles and India , in which Shankara Angadi describes McCartney as seeming out of his depth, but not Harrison, who Boyd says must have known Shankar "in a past life". In his review of the film for Uncut , Pete Paphides terms this initial meeting at the AMC a "momentous encounter", given

4272-640: The Wild Things Are and Higglety Pigglety Pop! , a concert series exploring the work of Helmut Lachenmann , recitals by Menahem Pressler , Ian Bostridge , Peter Serkin , Miklós Perényi , Dezső Ránki and the Arditti and Keller Quartets, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with the UK premiere of a work by Elliott Carter , as well as dramatised performances with film at the Leiston Long Shop Museum,

4361-631: The artistic direction of the festival was shared; musicians who joined the artistic team included Philip Ledger , Colin Graham , Steuart Bedford , Mstislav Rostropovich , Murray Perahia , Simon Rattle , John Shirley-Quirk and Oliver Knussen . From the beginning, the Festivals were characterised by an eclectic range of music, from the classics – Bach , Haydn , Mozart – to contemporary work, with young composers in particular being commissioned. By 1982, Britten–Pears archivist Rosamund Strode calculated that

4450-411: The birth of Iyengar Yoga . Among activities by the Angadis' pool of local musicians, George Martin , a staff producer with EMI -owned Parlophone Records , employed members of the AMC on a recording by comedian Peter Sellers in the early 1960s. EMI continued to use Ayana Angadi as a consultant of sorts on matters relating to Indian music. In 1962, Martin began working with a new Parlophone signing,

4539-588: The charity Live Music Now, the largest outreach music project in the UK. Live Music Now pays and trains professional musicians to work in the community, bringing the experience to those who rarely get an opportunity to hear or see live music performance. At the Edinburgh Festival Menuhin premiered Priaulx Rainier 's violin concerto Due Canti e Finale , which he had commissioned Rainier to write. He also commissioned her last work, Wildlife Celebration , which he performed in aid of Gerald Durrell 's Wildlife Conservation Trust . In 1983, Menuhin and Robert Masters founded

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4628-401: The complete church parables in Orford Church, and new works by Harrison Birtwistle , Wolfgang Rihm , Judith Weir , Magnus Lindberg and Richard Rodney Bennett . The Aldeburgh Festival retains a unique character, largely due to its location in rural Suffolk. It also continues to emphasise the presentation of new music, new interpretations and the rediscovery of forgotten music. It has seen

4717-448: The complete screening with live accompaniment of Britten 's 1930s film scores, a promenade performance of John Cage 's Song Books in the Hoffmann Building under the banner of #Faster than Sound , and open-air community events on Aldeburgh Beach. The centenary of Britten's birth was held between November 2012 and November 2013, and the 2013 Festival, the 66th, featured a new production by Tim Albery of Britten's opera, Peter Grimes ,

4806-477: The composer's penultimate work. He performed for Allied soldiers during World War II and, accompanied on the piano by English composer Benjamin Britten , for the surviving inmates of a number of concentration camps in June and July 1945 after their liberation in April of the same year, most famously Bergen-Belsen . He returned to Germany in 1947 to play concerto concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwängler as an act of reconciliation,

4895-464: The cultural impact of the Beatles' association with India. The Asian Music Circle's cause also profited from Harrison's involvement and the heightened interest in Indian culture during this period. His visits to Fitzalan Road ended in late 1966, however. Speaking to Newman, Shankara recalled: "My father was a difficult character, in some ways. He was chaotic, and never really pulled anything off he set out to do. He probably asked George for money, and that

4984-438: The debut album release for Indian classical music. In addition to concerts at the MoMA – Khan's first outside India – Menuhin and the Asian Music Circle arranged other recitals for what amounted to a short US tour. Menuhin subsequently organised for Khan to play in London later that year, at St Pancras Town Hall . The AMC then brought Ravi Shankar to Britain, where the sitarist made his Western concert debut in October 1956 with

5073-456: The family name from Mnuchin to Menuhin. Menuhin's sisters were concert pianist and human rights activist Hephzibah , and pianist, painter and poet Yaltah . Menuhin's first violin instruction was at age four by Sigmund Anker (1891–1958); his parents had wanted Louis Persinger to teach him, and Persinger agreed. Menuhin took lessons for a while from Persinger at his Hyde Street studio. He made his first public solo appearance in November 1921, at

5162-437: The festival was first directed by the impresario Ian Hunter in 1948. After the first year the city tried to run the festival itself, but in 1955 asked Hunter back. In 1959 Hunter invited Menuhin to become artistic director of the festival. Menuhin accepted, and retained the post until 1968. Menuhin also had a long association and deep friendship with Ravi Shankar , beginning in 1952, leading to their joint performance in 1966 at

5251-440: The finest violins made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari . Yehudi Menuhin was born in New York City to Moshe Menuhin , a Lithuanian Jew from Gomel in modern Belarus , and Marutha, a Crimean Karaite . Through his father Moshe, he was descended from a rabbinical dynasty. Moshe and Marutha (née Sher) met in Mandatory Palestine before marrying in New York in 1914. In late 1919, the pair became American citizens and changed

5340-504: The first Jewish musician to do so in the wake of the Holocaust , saying to Jewish critics that he wanted to rehabilitate Germany's music and spirit. Menuhin credited German philosopher Constantin Brunner with providing him with "a theoretical framework within which I could fit the events and experiences of life". He and Louis Kentner (brother-in-law of his wife, Diana ) gave the first performance of William Walton 's Violin Sonata, in Zürich on 30 September 1949. Following his role as

5429-409: The first formal recital of Indian classical music in America, when Khan played at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the first appearance on US television by Indian classical artists, after Khan and his accompanists, as well as Bharat Natyam dancer Shanta Rao , performed on the arts and sciences show Omnibus . While in New York, Khan recorded Music of India: Morning and Evening Ragas (1955),

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5518-402: The first integral recording of Johann Sebastian Bach 's sonatas and partitas for solo violin , although his Sonata No. 2, in A minor, was not released until all six were transferred to CD. His interest in the music of Béla Bartók prompted him to commission a work from him – the Sonata for Solo Violin , which, completed in 1943 and first performed by Menuhin in New York in 1944, was

5607-414: The first night of the 1969 Festival, the concert hall was destroyed by fire. Only the shell of the outer walls remained. For that year the Festival was moved to other local venues and only one performance was lost. By the following year the hall had been rebuilt and once again it was opened in the presence of the Queen, this time at the start of the 1970 Festival. The new Concert Hall at Snape Maltings became

5696-416: The first prominent yoga masters teaching in the West. Menuhin also took lessons from Indra Devi , who opened the first yoga studio in the U.S. in Los Angeles in 1948. Both Devi and Iyengar were students of Krishnamacharya , a famous yoga master in India. Menuhin died in Martin Luther Hospital in Berlin, Germany, from complications of bronchitis. Soon after his death, the Royal Academy of Music acquired

5785-407: The first recipient of the Billboard Century Award , partly through the former Beatle's "critical role in laying the groundwork for the modern concept of world music " with his Indian-influenced songs, and for his having "advanced society's comprehension of the spiritual and altruistic power of popular music". In an interview coinciding with the award, Harrison said the AMC's work had continued through

5874-424: The guitarist had never before used on a recording. When Harrison broke a string during the session, Martin suggested that the band contact Angadi to get a replacement. Ringo Starr then telephoned the Fitzalan Road house and made the request. According to the Angadis' eldest son, Shankara, the whole family delivered the new string to EMI's Abbey Road Studios and watched the recording being made. Keen to progress on

5963-425: The instrument, Harrison received tuition from one of the Music Circle's sitar players. Harrison then became a regular visitor to Fitzalan Road, attending recitals held there with his wife, Pattie Boyd . Harrison and Boyd also had their portrait painted by Patricia during this time. The proximity to the Angadis and their network furthered Harrison's interest in Indian music and culture, which he immediately absorbed into

6052-405: The interval act at the 23rd Eurovision Song Contest for TF1 . The performance came direct from the studios of TF1 and not that of the venue ( Palais des Congrès ), where the contest was being held. Menuhin hosted the PBS telecast of the gala opening concert of the San Francisco Symphony from Davies Symphony Hall in September 1980. His recording contract with EMI lasted almost 70 years and

6141-412: The larger and more professionally organised Asian Music Circuit . Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 1916 – 12 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. He played the Soil Stradivarius , considered one of

6230-442: The line-up of contributors. Looking for greater authenticity, he then travelled to Bombay in January 1968 and recorded at HMV Studios with musicians including Shivkumar Sharma , Aashish Khan and Hariprasad Chaurasia . By 1970 the Asian Music Circle had ceased operating, as the Angadis separated. That year, Angadi returned to India, and Patricia moved to a house in Hampstead's Flask Walk . In December 1992, George Harrison became

6319-448: The main focus for the Aldeburgh Festival, although performances continued to be held at all the former venues. For the first six years of the Aldeburgh Festival, the joint Artistic Directors remained Britten, Pears and Crozier; in 1955, Britten and Pears were in sole charge, then the following year they were joined by Imogen Holst , who remained a member of the Artistic Directorate until her death in 1984. After Britten's own death in 1976,

6408-549: The most exciting times of my life". In the pop milieu, the song marked the first example of an artist capturing a non-Western musical form authentically, in its structure and arrangement, and of Asian music being adapted without parody. Bhagwat received a credit on the band's Revolver album sleeve, a rare acknowledgement for an outside musician on a Beatles release. While also crediting the AMC with introducing Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and other leading Indian classical musicians to British audiences, Massey writes of Ayana Angadi having

6497-565: The music program at The Nueva School in Hillsborough, California , sometime around then. In 1965 he received an honorary knighthood from the British monarchy. In the same year, Australian composer Malcolm Williamson wrote a violin concerto for Menuhin. He performed the concerto many times and recorded it at its premiere at the Bath Festival in 1965. Originally known as the Bath Assembly,

6586-473: The party's more moderate sensibilities. Angadi's 1942 treatise Japan's Kampf impressed Britain's wartime Ministry of Information , but following the war, the authorities suspected him of being an agent for Soviet Russia 's Cominform bureau. Late in 1939, Angadi met Patricia Fell-Clarke at a social event held at London's Dorchester Hotel . The daughter of a wealthy English industrialist, Patricia had similarly rejected societal norms, finding her identity as

6675-472: The premieres of several works by Britten ( A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1960; Death in Venice in 1973) and also Harrison Birtwistle 's Punch and Judy in 1968, The Io Passion in 2004, The Corridor in 2009 and The Cure in 2015. The Aldeburgh Festival has always included the visual arts as well as music, and a number of exhibitions are curated each year to accompany the music programme. From 2011,

6764-567: The qualifications necessary for a top position in the Indian Civil Service , under what was then British imperial rule . Instead, he embraced Trotskyist political philosophy and became an outspoken critic of British imperialism. During the 1930s and 1940s, Angadi wrote journal articles (often as Raj Hansa) and gave public and school lectures throughout the UK; having joined the Labour Party , he discovered that his views were too extreme for

6853-405: The regular performers in the early days, followed later by Alfred Brendel , Ian Bostridge , Thomas Allen , Philip Langridge and Ann Murray . The Concert Hall proved very capable of being turned into an opera stage. The Royal Opera presented A Midsummer Night's Dream in the first season, and on 16 June 1973, the first performance of Britten's final opera, Death in Venice , was given at

6942-531: The role of M. Triquet, and Eric Crozier as the valet Guillot). In subsequent years, the school regularly performed an opera during the festival. The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a virtual one was held in its place. The organisation responsible for running the Aldeburgh Festival changed its name to Aldeburgh Music in 2006. Thomas Adès was succeeded as Artistic Director of

7031-405: The story of his name: Obliged to find an apartment of their own, my parents searched the neighbourhood and chose one within walking distance of the park. Showing them out after they had viewed it, the landlady said: "And you'll be glad to know I don't take Jews." Her mistake made clear to her, the antisemitic landlady was renounced, and another apartment found. But her blunder left its mark. Back on

7120-611: The street my mother made a vow. Her unborn baby would have a label proclaiming his race to the world. He would be called "The Jew". Menuhin became an honorary citizen of Switzerland, and then also of the United Kingdom, in 1970 and 1985, respectively. Along with Albert Einstein , Menuhin was one of the sponsors of the Peoples' World Convention (PWC), also known as Peoples' World Constituent Assembly (PWCA), which took place in 1950-51 at Palais Electoral, Geneva , Switzerland. Menuhin

7209-568: The tambura parts, Harrison and the Indian players were the only musicians on the track. None of the Music Circle personnel were credited by name, a situation that Lavezzoli finds regrettable, given the quality of the tabla and dilruba playing. Research undertaken by the University of Liverpool 's Department of Music has since identified the four musicians as Anna Joshi, Amrit Gajjar (both dilruba), Buddhadev Kansara (tambura) and Natwar Soni (tabla). Talking to Hunter Davies, Harrison bemoaned how, although

7298-683: Was Darien Angadi , later a choral soloist and an actor in Shakespearean productions by Trevor Nunn , Jonathan Miller and Herbert Wise . In his book Azaadi!: Stories and Histories of the Indian Subcontinent After Independence , author and journalist Reginald Massey writes that all the Angadi children were "brilliant and beautiful", with the youngest, Chandrika (or Clare), becoming the first Asian model to appear in Vogue magazine. The Asian Music Circle's activities increased during

7387-457: Was a pescetarian . In 1953, Life published photos of him in various esoteric yoga positions. In 1952, Menuhin was in India, where Nehru , the new nation's first Prime Minister, introduced him to an influential yogi B. K. S. Iyengar , who was largely unknown outside the country. Menuhin arranged for Iyengar to teach abroad in London, Switzerland, Paris, and elsewhere. He became one of

7476-583: Was a strong connection with Russian music: Rostropovich and Richter became frequent visitors, and in 1970 Shostakovich 's 14th Symphony , dedicated to Britten, had its first performance outside the USSR at the Concert Hall. Peter Pears, in addition to his role as joint Artistic Director, was a regular performer, often accompanied by Britten, and often appearing in up to ten concerts during the Festival. Janet Baker , Julian Bream , Osian Ellis , Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , John Shirley-Quirk and Robert Tear were among

7565-499: Was also a student of Adolf Busch in Basel . He stayed in the Swiss city for a bit more than a year, where he started to take lessons in German and Italian as well. According to Henry A. Murray , Menuhin wrote: Actually, I was gazing in my usual state of being half absent in my own world and half in the present. I have usually been able to "retire" in this way. I was also thinking that my life

7654-413: Was eager to meet the sitarist. Shankar agreed to accept Harrison as his sitar student, so beginning an association that, music critic Ken Hunt writes, "brought Indian music real global attention". Harrison's friendship with the sitarist – already the best-known Indian classical musician internationally – increased Shankar's standing to that of a rock star and initiated Indian music's peak in popularity in

7743-520: Was the end of that relationship." In March 1967, Harrison again consulted the Music Circle to find suitable musicians for one of his recordings. The song, " Within You Without You ", features AMC members on instruments such as dilruba and tabla, and appeared on the Beatles' seminal album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . Aside from the Western string orchestration arranged and overdubbed by Martin, and Beatles assistant Neil Aspinall playing one of

7832-558: Was the first conductor for the Asian Youth Orchestra which toured around Asia, including Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong with Julian Lloyd Webber and a group of young talented musicians from all over Asia. Menuhin was married twice, first to Nola Nicholas, daughter of an Australian industrialist and sister of Hephzibah Menuhin 's first husband Lindsay Nicholas. They had two children, Krov and Zamira (who married pianist Fou Ts'ong ). Following their 1947 divorce he married

7921-534: Was tied up with the instrument and would I do it justice? His first concerto recording was made in 1931, Bruch's G minor, under Sir Landon Ronald in London, the labels calling him "Master Yehudi Menuhin". In 1932 he recorded Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto in B   minor for HMV in London, with the composer himself conducting; in 1934, uncut, Paganini's D major Concerto with Emile Sauret 's cadenza in Paris under Pierre Monteux . Between 1934 and 1936, he made

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