Tour's End

After an around-the-world tour that covered 75,000 miles, took him to 13 countries and 73 cities, Violinist Yehudi Menuhin, 19, returned to Manhattan last week, gave a performance that was to mark a milestone in his amazing career.

Crowds had thronged to hear him in Europe, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand. Another record crowd pushed its way into Carnegie Hall last week where the boy appeared unaffected by the siege of adulation. For the Manhattan concert the Menuhin family made a special concession. Yehudi's sister Hephzibah was permitted to play with her celebrated brother.

Yehudi held Hephzibah's hand as they walked onto the stage. But there was no hesitation once the girl had seated herself at the piano and made sure that her brother was ready to begin. At 15, the second Menuhin prodigy has a talent that could take her far as a solo performer. Like Yehudi she plays with complete concentration, an obvious respect for the music at hand. Together the pair achieved a perfect balance of tone, penetrated the varying moods in sonatas by Brahms, Enesco, Franck, so impressed Arturo Toscanini that he sent word backstage asking for some Mozart as an encore.

Occasionally Yehudi's playing showed faint signs of fatigue, of a transitional stage in his musical development. But the Menuhin parents still hold first place as the wisest of prodigy guides. On tour they kept the family together for all of the 17 months, refused invitations lest the children should be influenced by hearing too much praise. Next week they will move to their ranch in California, remain in retirement for two years while Yehudi has time to rest, study, develop into manhood. If Mother Menuhin has her way, Hephzibah will never have an intensive public career.

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