Yehudi Menuhin had everything going for him. A child prodigy as a violinist who appeared for the first time onstage before he was ten years old, he embarked on a recording career in the late Twenties and early Thirties as well as touring around the world.
Like many geniuses, Menuhin's personal life was not quite so successful. He found it difficult to relate to other people around him, and could not communicate his feelings adequately. His personal relationships were often attenuated, even though he managed to find a suitable mate in Diana Gould. Perhaps other people were frightened of him; it is difficult on occasions to know what to say to someone so possessed of natural talent.
Menuhin's career only lost its intensity in the Fifties and Sixties, when he became more and more involved in political causes, while his repertoire expanded from the classics into jazz with several successful recording partnerships with Stéphane Grappelli. He became less obsessed with performance, and more with trying to pass his talent on to others, through the organization of competitions under his name. He became a regular guest on the chat-show circuit, not only talking about his career but explaining his political beliefs as well.
He passed away in 1999, soon after giving another concert in Berlin. His legacy lives on in the form of innumerable recordings as well as in the ways he encouraged talented young musicians worldwide.