WHEN Yehudi Menuhin first performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in February 1930, he was 13 and world famous.
"As the bigness of the boy's accomplishments grows on one, he seems to grow smaller," wrote The Sun's critic. "So that the illusion of a bit of a child playing with all the skill and artistry of an adult leaves the listener fairly aghast."
That was six years after the violinist's debut in San Francisco. Other prodigies have flamed out in youth. Not Lord Menuhin, who died Friday in Berlin, where he had gone to conduct the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra. At age 82, he was going to work, playing at the top of his game for 75 years -- in case you were wondering who would top Cal Ripken's record.
Mr. Menuhin was a thread of continuity in the culture of the century. To hear him in the 1990s was to share an experience with audiences of the 1920s.
The violinist came to Baltimore many times, usually to play with the BSO, once to give a recital-lecture at Goucher College. His most gracious appearance was in the summer of 1981, opening the Pier Six Pavilion in the Inner Harbor to benefit the National Aquarium, two piers over. Many listeners were annoyed and embarrassed as boat horns and engines marred the acoustics.
"It's very appropriate," he said. I just love to play overlooking the harbor."
Renowned at the classics and Romantic music, he championed such modernists as Bela Bartok and played with Indian sitar and classical jazz masters.
The New York native, son of immigrant Hebrew teachers, played in uniform for U.S. troops in World War II and returned to play for Germans two years afterward. He played in Israel early in its history. After the Six Day War, he played benefits in Arab countries.
Mr. Menuhin practiced spiritualism and yoga. When he met Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India, they chatted while standing on their heads before dinner.
His great causes were world peace and music education. In recent months, he was promoting music teaching in British schools.
"Art reflects the refinement of a civilization," he said. "Music goes both ways. You make yourself heard, and listen to others."
Pub Date: 3/14/99