The Menuhin Tour of San Francisco Part 2
The second installment of my Menuhin treasure hunt around CA (the world?). This is his family home beginning in 1923. Beautiful!
This is the second installment of my Yehudi Menuhin housing obsession. If you want to visit the first, click here.
1043 Steiner Street. The home of Yehudi Menuhin beginning in 1923.
Jeff and I drove to Northern California for Thanksgiving this year (which was amazing in case anyone is wondering - I am now obsessed and can’t wait to return) and picked up my gal pal Kat on our way to Sonoma County where we rented a cabin in the woods for a few days. We stopped briefly in San Francisco but stayed just long enough for me to go on an Active Violinist field trip to hunt down yet another home where Yehudi Menuhin resided.
Fortunately, Kat lives blocks away from Menuhin’s early family home (both of them) so it was easy to stop by and snap some photos and made a good excuse to stretch our legs after a few hours in the car.
Menuhin and his family moved from 732 Hayes Street to 1043 Steiner Street at some point in 1923 (according to Humphrey Burton, most likely in the autumn). These residences are walking distance from each other and very close to Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies so I can only imagine what they might cost to purchase or rent these days.
Burton writes;
“By [1923] Yehudi’s potential as a performer would have been sufficiently evident for them to buy a residence appropriate for their future needs. The handsome two-storey wooden house, 1043 Steiner Street, still stands on one of San Francisco’s attractive hillsides. It boasted a double living room, normally divided by sliding doors into dining and living rooms but capable when opened up of seating sixty guests an an informal concert - an astonishingly grandiose concept for a young couple of limited means with three very small children. But the Menuhins loved entertaining…and they needed somewhere for young Yehudi to play for their friends.
There was a small room off the kitchen where the boy did his daily practice. Marutha did not oversee his work so much as overhear it while she prepared the meals. At the back there was a yard with some trees and a swing. They built a deck on which they erected a large tent and there the entire family slept, in divided sections, apparently all the year round, because the ingenious Moshe let out the upstairs bedrooms to lodgers…In the basement Moshe created a large garage where he rented parking spaces to pay off the $5000 mortgage on the new house at $50 per month.” (24-25). [1]
We pulled into San Francisco in mid-afternoon of the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It was beautifully sunny, and still a little damp from the rain the previous evening but the light was so special and the temperature was perfect. We strolled through the park to take a look at the house on Steiner Street. It is well maintained but missing any commemorative plaque for the violinist - which, again, feels quasi scandalous. Who will remember the greatness that passed through those doors if the city does not commemorate it appropriately? Jeff and Kat encouraged me to knock on the door and ask for an informal tour but I felt too shy so we tried to go next door to Chateau Tivoli, a bed and breakfast to see if the staff could give us a clue about the current residents. Interestingly enough, from 1898-1917 the bed and breakfast was the private residence of Mrs. Ernestine Kreling, owner of the famous Tivoli Opera House, the first place where opera was sung on the West Coast. In the early part of the 20th century, the neighborhood was largely Jewish, and after 1917 was sold to the Emanu-El Sisterhood as a home for single girls, and subsequently housed many and various Jewish organizations. [2] The things you learn when you start digging!
Stay tuned for the next installment of Menuhin trivia. I’m not sure what it will be, but it will arrive soon.
Sources:
[1] Humphrey Burton, Yehudi Menuhin, A Life. Northeastern University Press: Boston, 2000.
[2] https://www.chateautivoli.com
The Menuhin Tour of San Francisco Part 1
I know many random facts about Yehudi Menuhin, including where he lived (like his actual address) at various stages of his life. I’ve been musing on my yoga journey recently and Menuhin plays a significant role in where I am today. Last year, on a trip to San Francisco I took a trip to one of his earliest residences. Here it is, ta da!
Not to keep going on my yoga journey, BUT I've been thinking about the different places yoga has taken me, how it has intertwined with music-making, and the many lessons I have learned, am learning and must eventually relearn. One of the most significant points on my journey was the dissertation I wrote about Violin and Yoga titled “Using Iyengar Yoga to Enhance Violin Playing.”
That whole research portion of writing an academic anything made me borderline obsessed with Yehudi Menuhin (and BKS Iyengar, but that is for a different day). At one point, I probably knew more about Menuhin than most other people. I have read (I think) every one of his books, autobiographies, and biographies. I have compared videos and recordings from different stages of his career. I've watched BBC specials featuring him, and about him. I know about his school, the festival in Switzerland, his siblings, who he married, what he did during World War II, his feelings about airplanes, his work with UNESCO, his recommended yoga poses, diet when touring for concerts, and where he lived and when.
Menuhin was born in New York City, but his family moved to San Francisco when he was very young. While reading Yehudi Menuhin, A Life by Humphrey Burton, I came across one of Menuhin's first addresses in San Francisco: 732 Hayes Street. I texted my friend in San Francisco and asked if she ever passed by this address or knew where it was, and it turns out it is right down the street from her. She snapped a picture the next day on her way to work. Last year, I was in the Bay Area for a visit and requested a walk past it to see for myself.
Turns out, I might be the only person who cares that a very important violinist who changed the world’s perception and appreciation of yoga and many other things in ways we still don’t fully appreciate because it is not particularly well-kept. It lacks any sort of commemorative markings and appears (because, yes, I definitely peered through the windows in the middle of the day like a stalker with no shame) to be just an ordinary rental building that any person could live in without even having to audition. This kind of blows my mind. Maybe I'm too much of a fangirl, but I was stunned that the world keeps turning without some Trust or Musical Society making more of a commotion about this. The apartments don't look fancy, but they probably cost an arm and a leg in rent. At least it has charm and history.
The Menuhin family lived at 732 Hayes Street from around 1918 or 1919 until Autumn of 1923 when the expanding family moved into a larger home at 1043 Steiner Street. Menuhin's biographer, Humphrey Burton, wrote that the Steiner St. house boasted, "a double living room, normally divided by sliding doors into dining and living rooms but capable when opened up of seating sixty guests at an informal concert – an astonishingly grandiose concept for a young couple of limited means with three very small children." (24)
Frustratingly, I can't believe that I didn't remember this address last year when I was in San Francisco. If I could make an excuse for myself, it would be that Hayes is a much more famous street than Steiner in San Francisco history. Fortunately, I will be back in Northern California in a few weeks, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I will walk over to Steiner Street and take a photo or 2 of the house…and probably stare through the windows of this place too. Maybe that one has a plaque?
Stay tuned…
References:
Humphrey Burton, Yehudi Menuhin, A Life. Northeastern University Press: Boston, 2000.
B.K.S. Iyengar + Yehudi Menuhin + Yoga + Violin = Research?
The first Dissertation Topic Post.
Two of my heroes. Yehudi Menuhin and B.K.S. Iyengar.
What did they do for music?
B.K.S. Iyengar + Yehudi Menuhin
aka
Yoga + Violin
These dudes...how can you not love them?
This is it. I'm diving in! This is my first post on the topic of my dissertation (or document as they like to call it at OU) research.
Yoga has taken the world by storm. It is reportedly a several billion-dollar industry.
Yoga pants, yoga mats, yoga classes, instagram accounts, workshops, festivals, books, websites, video subscriptions, food, diet, philosophy. Everyone seems to be doing it. In fact, I know more people who DO yoga than who DON’T do yoga these days.
And that is incredible.
I started practicing yoga when I was 19. I was at a summer music festival in Hawaii (poor me) and yoga was an optional morning activity before rehearsals. I figured why not? And that was it. I was hooked. Just like most people trying yoga. The initial benefits were immediate. I felt so focused in rehearsals, my body felt strong and long, I felt happy and positive. I didn't want to stop.
And I haven't really since. I've tried all sorts of yoga - Bikram, Vinyasa Flow, Kundalini, Power Yoga, Ashtanga, Yen, Sculpt, and finally Iyengar. I practice at home, on my own. I travel with a yoga mat. I read books on the subject. And now I am writing my Dissertation on it.
I was first introduced to Iyengar yoga a few years ago. I had been shoving my body half heartedly into sun salutations and asanas without really understanding what I was doing or how it was supposed to feel. The goal was pretzel shapes no matter how I got there.
Pretty much on speed dial pre-Iyengar yoga practice.
I signed up for a ‘Strength and Alignment’ class (secret code for an Iyengar class) and my whole concept of yoga changed. Gone was the mood lighting and mindless sun salutations. My muscles spasmed and quivered for a full 90mins just doing basic poses, and using props. Here I was thinking of myself as a pretty advanced yoga student and come to find out that when done properly there is absolutely no easy yoga pose and your entire body is working ALL OF THE TIME. Goodbye ego – talk about a humbling experience! Just standing up straight can make your body fatigue! Whoa!
We did Ustrasana.
I used to HATE this pose. I mean avoid it like the plague, whine like a baby on the inside or do something else in class when given the option. My neck would crunch, my legs would go a little numb, it was hard to breathe and just felt genuinely terrible. Everything was wrong with it. But then we worked on it in class and OMG I got it! When done correctly it feels AMAZING! You really do feel tremendous joy. Your heart opens up. You feel warm, your arms and chest expand. You come out of the pose and want to smile and just love everyone.
And that was it. I was hooked.
Many yoga lovers are turned off by Iyengar yoga; there is no music, there is no 'this is your practice', there are tons of props, you don’t heat the room, , you have to listen to every instruction from the teacher, you hold poses forever, it is not workout yoga, you feel like you're going to die in trikonasana (triangle pose), you never thought standing on your own two feet could be so difficult. If you can make it to the end of class = you will feel AMAZING. At least I do.
Just looking at this photo makes my legs ache! He may not look insanely strong - but what he is doing right here takes remarkable strength, concentration, and flexibility.
Iyengar teachers are a quirky bunch. They tend to be a bit older. Seasoned. No nonsense but not mean. They know exactly how each pose should look and feel. They have spent years in training (because there is no 200 hour training course or retreat for Iyengar teachers) and most importantly they use yoga therapeutically to cure or ease what ails you.
So what does this have to do with violin again?
Just as I go ‘all in’ with Iyengar yoga, imagine my surprise when I open his seminal book "Light on Yoga" and find a forward written by Yehudi Menuhin.
WHAT?! What business does this classical violinist have writing a forward in one of the most famous books on yoga of all time? And on behalf of the man credited with bringing yoga to the West!?
Turns out it was Menuhin who brought Iyengar to our attention. Yep - we Westerners have a forward thinking classical violinist to thank for our current obsession with Yoga.
Menuhin actually said the following;
"I consider B.K.S. Iyengar to be my first real violin teacher. He is the first to teach me how to use my body"
Talk about a revolution in pedagogy and performance!
That is a profound statement for a world famous once child-prodigy violinist to make about a previously unknown yoga teacher. It really got me thinking/curious/obsessed about this whole yoga thing. I loved it before but this seemed like a perfect opportunity to dive in intellectually too.
So there you have it.
My journey + the discovery of Menuhin’s involvement = mild/intense obsession with the impact this friendship had -in this case- specifically on the classical music world.
You can read my dissertation here.
Enjoy!