Tony - thanks for sharing that wonderful tribute for Menuhin with those
of us whose local papers don't cover such events.  A great man allowed the
fullness of years and yet with still so much to be done, in his eyes.  From
his earliest 78s to the latest stereo digital recordings Menuhin has left
us a treasury of performances to be mined for generations.  Those early
recordings haunt the memory and the ear -- so much insight by one so young,
such a sense of freshness and charm..and golden tone and technique.  My
favorite performance of Menuhin's, a capstone of everything he stood for
in music and humanitarianism, is the Beethoven concerto he played with
Furtwangler in May 1947, to inaugurate the return of that great conductor
and, for that matter, the city itself, to musical life.  The live
performance recording, released on M&A just a couple of years ago, conveys
that incredible sense of occasion, the return of civilization to postwar
Germany, the return of a Jewish performer to Berlin for the first time in
14 years.  In the slow movement time stands still as the soloist weaves a
heart-stopping endless melody, not just supported but cradled by a loving
orchestral accompaniment.  Heard blind (i.e., without knowing the source)
this performance will bring tears to any listener open to the experience.
The wonder of recording is that fifty plus years after the event we can all
experience that occasion, at least in part.  And so will our grandchildren.

Eric Kisch