Yehudi Menuhin: Who Was Yehudi? - BBC Four - presenter Clemency Burton-Hill

[Stanfordian]

In a fasinating article in today's Daily Telegraph 'Menhuhin was never the world's greatest violinist' by Simon Heffer he has taken to task some of the claims made in last week's BBC Four programme 'Yehudi Menuhin: Who Was Yehudi?' presented by Clemency Burton-Hill.

Claims such as "Yehudi Menuhin was the twentieth century's greatest violinist" and "Menuhin came out of the second world war a better
violinist than before." Heffer makes lots of counterclaims.

He sort of infers that in the search for personal insights the impartiality of the programme was compromised by CB-H who had lessons off Menuhin and her father Humphrey Burton wrote a biography of Menuhin.

[DracoM]

Ahem..............oh dear. I wish I hadn't known that, but it really couldn't surprise, could it? Luvvies luvving?

The Service/Hope chat in Music Matters was a lot more revealing IMO.

[Lento]

Reading my friend's copy of the Telegraph today (yes, really) I noticed the above mentioned rather contrarian column by Simon Heffer "Menuhin never was the world's greatest violinist" in which he criticises aspects of the BBC's recent documentary. He says, inter alia, that he prefers the ?1929 Sammons recording to that made by Menuhin in 1932. I haven't heard the Sammons so can't comment.

[Richard Tarleton]

Claims such as "Yehudi Menuhin was the twentieth century's greatest violinist" and "Menuhin came out of the second world war a better
violibist than before." Heffer makes lots of other counter claims.

Yes that was CBH's opening gambit - I politely overlooked it in order to watch the rest of the programme. I'm sure nobody ever thought he was, did they? I grew up hearing that Heifetz was.

She did counterbalance it later on (talking about the postwar Menuhin) saying something to the effect she'd forgive a ropey technique in someone who was a great human being, or words to that effect (I'm sure she used the word "ropey" but can't be bothered to listen again).

[ahinton]

Yes that was CBH's opening gambit - I politely overlooked it in order to watch the rest of the programme. I'm sure nobody ever thought he was, did they? I grew up hearing that Heifetz was.

When I first heard Heifetz in my 'teens I felt that he must be. Menuhin was a great musician and had many other positive attributes but he seemed unable to sustain the splendid playing of his youth into his later middle age as Heifetz and others did (and as Heifetz might well have done for longer had that accident not befallen him).

[Stanfordian]

Reading my friend's copy of the Telegraph today (yes, really) I noticed the above mentioned rather contrarian column by Simon Heffer "Menuhin never was the world's greatest violinist" in which he criticises aspects of the BBC's recent documentary. He says, inter alia, that he prefers the ?1929 Sammons recording to that made by Menuhin in 1932. I haven't heard the Sammons so can't comment.

Hiya Lento,

No need to apologise for reading the Telegraph; it's not the Daily Express. I read the Cafe Nero copy so maybe I'm apologising too.

[pastoralguy]

I was going to write that it's a pointless argument to define an artist as the 'greatest' since, unlike sport where it's pretty obvious who has lost and who has won, it's completely subjective and is dependent on a whole collection of variables.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Yes that was CBH's opening gambit - I politely overlooked it in order to watch the rest of the programme. I'm sure nobody ever thought he was, did they? I grew up hearing that Heifetz was.

She did counterbalance it later on (talking about the postwar Menuhin) saying something to the effect she'd forgive a ropey technique in someone who was a great human being, or words to that effect (I'm sure she used the word "ropey" but can't be bothered to listen again).

Yes, but that was the only blip in an otherwise excellent programme.

[antongould]

Surely CBH has as much right to her opinion as SH has to his... ???. Can St. Simon play the fiddle?

[LeMartinPecheur]

I was going to write that it's a pointless argument to define an artist as the 'greatest' since, unlike sport where it's pretty obvious who has lost and who has won, it's completely subjective...

...and is dependent on a whole collection of variables.

Even attributing to such arguments the existence of relevant variables risks falling into the pseudo-scientific "everything is measurable" fallacy

Despite this aberration into 'orthodoxy' pg, I still fear that your whole posting will necessarily disqualify you from all media and criticism jobs for ever....but try not to be too disappointed...

[Richard Tarleton]

Yes, but that was the only blip in an otherwise excellent programme.

Indeed it was, which is why I for one ignored it, until S Heffer brought it up

[pastoralguy]

One of the most wonderful pieces of violin playing I ever heard was at an (R)SNO concert at the Usher Hall in 1989 when Neemi Jarvi conducted Vaughan-William's 8th symphony. The middle two movements are for strings alone followed by winds alone. There's a violin solo in the string movement that the orchestra's long term leader, Edwin Paling, played with such total virtuosity that it, literally, took my breath away. To this day, when I think of the word portamenti, I always think of Paling's playing of that small solo.

Now why, after literally 100s of concerts, do I remember that one moment of exquisite playing? Was it my mood, had I had a drink at the interval, had I had a tax rebate or was it a combination of tiny factors? I suppose the point that I'm making is that for me at that moment, Edwin Paling was the greatest violinist ever.

One of the most ridiculous statements I ever read, (by a journalist!), was that the greatest night of our lives would be Hogmany 1999! For me, it was a total non-event. In fact, the highlights of my life have come completely out the blue with no warning at all. IMHO, journalists have a certain number of column inches to fill so they have to wrote SOMETHING!

[Barbirollians]

Simon Heffer is a low rent David Mellor and an authority on nothing .

It all depends on what one means by greatest violinist I suppose - most technically accomplished them probably not most musical - more than possibly .

[Lento]

I was interested to learn that Menuhin didn't learn the so-called basics, ie scales, when he was young and apparently, in later life, had no idea how his younger self did what he did.

[Serial_Apologist]

Simon Heffer is a low rent David Mellor and an authority on nothing .

It all depends on what one means by greatest violinist I suppose - most technically accomplished them probably not most musical - more than possibly .

There was an interesting discussion topic on Friday's edition of The Wright Stuff (CH5): "Which do employers prepare: hard working or talented?" and from surveys it turns out they prefer talented people. There seemed to be a consensus that talented people in general are regarded as more attractive than those who achieve through hard graft. As one who's never been much talented at anything, I was left feeling rather sad.