0171
Menuhin, Yaltah (1921-2001). Pianist. Born in San Francisco,
CA, to Moshe and Marutha Sher Menuhin, immigrant Russian Jews by way of
Palestine, Yaltah began studying piano at the age of three. The studies and
career of her older brother, violinist Yehudi, dominated the family (their
second child, Hepzibah, was also a pianist). In 1930, the Menuhin family
took up residence in Paris, where Cather first met them in the home of Jan
Hambourg and Isabelle McClung Hambourg and became a family friend; the
children called her “Aunt Willa.” In the 1930s, the Menuhin family made the
Ansonia Hotel its home base during their frequent stays in New York City.
Cather took the Menuhin children on walks around Central Park, read
Shakespeare with them, and gave them books as gifts. The family purchased a
ranch in Los Gatos, CA, in 1935. As Yaltah grew older and wanted to pursue
her own musical career, her relationship with her mother grew
difficult—Marutha supported Hepzibah’s role as Yehudi’s accompanist
but believed a solo career inappropriate for a woman (even though many
recognized that Yaltah was the most gifted musician of the three children).
In June 1938, just shy of her seventeenth birthday and apparently under
duress from her mother, Yaltah married William Stix, a lawyer from St.
Louis, MO, who worked in Washington, DC; Cather attended the wedding. In
1939 Yaltah first separated from and then divorced Stix. In 1941, she eloped
with U.S. Army officer Benjamin Rolfe. Her parents publicly disavowed the
marriage and she and her mother stopped speaking to one another. The Rolfes
had two children, Robert and Lionel. None of Cather’s extant letters to
Yaltah mention the turmoil surrounding her marriage, divorce, and
remarriage, however. Yaltah’s final marriage to American pianist Joel Ryce
was long and happy, and during it she pursued a performing career. According
to her son Lionel Rolfe, she treasured her letters from Cather and often
reread them. She eventually gave them to him so he could sell them and use
the funds to support his aspiration to become a writer.
0172
Menuhin, Yehudi (1916-1999). Violinist and conductor. Born in
New York City to Moshe Mnuchin and Marutha Sher Mnuchin, immigrant Russian
Jews by way of Palestine who changed the spelling of their surname and moved
the family to San Francisco in 1918, Yehudi started violin lessons at age
four and made his first public appearance in 1922. His two younger siblings,
Hepzibah and Yaltah, studied piano, although his parents prioritized the
musical career of their son over their daughters. With the support of patron
Sidney Ehrman, the Menuhin family followed Yehudi’s teacher Louis Persinger
to New York City. Ehrman also sponsored Yehudi for a year of study in Paris,
France, with Georges Enesco. Yehudi began attracting national attention in
1927 and recorded and toured the U.S. in 1929. That year at Carnegie Hall,
his performance of concertos by Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms with Bruno
Walter and the Berlin Philharmonic inspired Albert Einstein to proclaim “now
I know there is a God in Heaven”; Cather was also in the audience for this
concert. In 1930, the Menuhin family took up residence in Paris, where
Cather first met them in the home of Jan Hambourg and Isabelle McClung
Hambourg and became a family friend; the children called her “Aunt Willa.”
In the 1930s, the Menuhin family made the Ansonia Hotel its home base during
their frequent stays in New York City. Cather took the Menuhin children on
walks around Central Park, read Shakespeare with them, and gave them books
as gifts. Yehudi’s sister Hepzibah accompanied her brother on piano; they
made their first recording together in 1933 and often performed together.
The family purchased a ranch in Los Gatos, CA, in 1935, and after a world
tour that year, Yehudi withdrew from performing for 18 months and stayed at
the ranch with his family. He returned to the concert stage in 1937 and met
and married Nola Nicholas in 1938 (Hepzibah married Nola’s brother Lindsay).
Yehudi and Nola had two children, Krov and Zamira. Cather enjoyed a late
life visit from Hepzibah and Yehudi and their families in 1947. Cather
corresponded regularly with the adult Yehudi, giving him personal advice,
although only one original letter has surfaced. In 1947, Yehudi and Nola
divorced and he married British ballerina Diana Gould, with whom he had two
more children. Living in Europe, he continued his career as a performer and
also became a conductor, established a school in England, and became a
British citizen. He died in Berlin, Germany, while on tour.
0515
Menuhin, Moshe (1893-1983). Russian-American teacher of Hebrew.
Born in Russia into a distinguished religious Jewish family, Moshe
Mnuchin moved to Palestine with his family as a child. In 1913 he moved to
the U.S., where he married Marutha Sher in 1914. After the 1916 birth of
their son Yehudi and Moshe’s 1917 graduation from New York University, they
moved to San Francisco, CA, where their daughters Hepzibah and Yaltah were
born. They changed their surname to Menuhin in 1919 when they became U.S.
citizens. While Moshe taught Hebrew, Marutha supervised the musical
education of their children, which later took them to New York City and
Paris. Cather first met the Menuhin family in the Paris home of Jan Hambourg
and Isabelle McClung Hambourg in 1930. In the 1930s, the Menuhin family made
the Ansonia Hotel its home base during their frequent stays in New York
City, and Cather developed strong bonds with the children and Marutha
although apparently less so with Moshe. The family purchased a ranch in Los
Gatos, CA, in 1935, which became their primary residence. Moshe Menuhin was
a prominent voice for anti-Zionism within the U.S. Jewish community.