Hephzibah Menuhin - Career and Causes

Career and Causes

In 1947, she played at the Prague Spring Music Festival in a concert organised by Paul Morawetz, a Melbourne businessman. He took her to see the Theresienstadt concentration camp, which had a profound effect on her, forcing her to confront the meaning of her own Jewish heritage, and they entered a romantic relationship which lasted for several years.

In 1951 she and Yehudi played at the opening of the Royal Festival Hall in London, then made a concert tour of Australia and played and broadcast for the ABC. She supported all types of causes with concerts and recitals, such as the National Music Camp Association, and she was outspoken about the influence of television on children. In Sydney she was soloist in Juan José Castro’s piano concerto, with the composer conducting (he was at that time the chief conductor of the Victorian Symphony Orchestra). In 1954 she moved to Sydney, where she gave concerts and opened her home to anyone in need.

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