Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) - violin
(Birmingham Symphony Hall Collection)

I first met Yehudi in 1963, when I was sketching during rehearsals at his Gstaad Festival. With his intelligent curiosity, he understood immediately what I was trying to do - to convey music through painting. In 1971 he opened an exhibition of my work as part of the Festival and, until his death in 1999, was a great source of encouragement and support.

Although he was appearing exclusively as a conductor when this painting was commissioned in 1991, my memories of this legendary violinist went back to the experience of painting him in the seventies, as a soloist in the Chagall Museum in Nice, or playing chamber music with Hephzibah or Jeremy Menuhin, or with that guru of the sitar, Ravi Shankar. So I've tried to create an image that reflects a lifetime of generosity as a great musician, educator, philosopher, ambassador for world peace. A tough challenge.

The painting has a meditative air, the delicate blues and pastels balanced by the earthy golden yellow ochres that flow from his instrument and through his personality. One grey morning in the studio I hit the button of my answering-machine. "Norman, it's just Yehudi, to tell you that I love the painting... it's one of the best portraits that have been made of me." How I loved that man.