NFM Leopoldinum’s Tribute to Menuhin

Usher Hall, 11/8/2025

NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Director and Violin, Nicola Benedetti, violin, Rising Stars of Strings

This was a special concert for a great musician, a magic night in the Usher Hall with two great soloists, accompanied by the fine musicians of the NFM Leopoldinum from Wroclaw Poland. The soloists were our own Nicola Benedetti, making a rare appearance at the festival as a musician and not as director, and Alexander Sitkovetsky, a British violinist from a distinguished Russian musical family who has become an international star and tonight Director of the Leopoldinum Orchestra. What brought them together was that they were both students of Yehudi Menuhin at his music school when they were teenagers and this concert was a tribute to Menuhin. Indeed Nicola explained that they had played all the works they were performing tonight whilst at the Menuhin school.

The concert also had a special meaning for me, not just because I have heard Menuhin play many times over the years, but when I was an MEP and in charge of music policy at the European Parliament, we had Yehudi as a special guest at the Culture Committee. I remember the members were a little disappointed that he didn’t play for them, but by that time arthritis had ended his playing. We gave him a grant for his European schools which helped war-damaged children recover through music.

This programme consisted of 4 short works and a special encore. We began with Elgar’s melodic ‘Serenade for String Orchestra in E minor’. Nicola led in this and it was a joy to listen to, with the musicians of the orchestra giving it superb accompaniment. The second work was a Violin Concerto by Polish composer Panufnik. I worried this might not be quite so melodic, being a modern work composed in 1971, but it was beautifully played by Alexander Sitkovetsky, who again had played this at the Menuhin School and subsequently recorded it. It proved to be very accessible and got a very warm response from the packed hall.

After the interval we had a lovely Bach ‘Concerto for Two Violins in D minor’ and Benedetti and Sitkovetsky were superb together. The final programmed item was Bartok’s ‘Divertimento for String Orchestra’ with an augmented orchestra. Again this proved much more melodic than I expected from Bartok. Finally we heard a specially arranged encore, a lovely tribute to Menuhin called ‘Farewell to the Fiddler’, by Scots composer Eddie McGuire who was in the Grand Circle waving to us. Eddie is a rare creature, a composer and a musician who is equally at home in classical and folk music; indeed he plays the flute in the well-known Scottish group, The Whistlebinkies. The work was a delight and brought a fitting finale to what was a very special concert. Nicola invited many of the young musicians in the audience to come back-stage and meet with the musicians. Miss Benedetti is not only a great musician; she is proving to be a great director of the Edinburgh Festival and I think I can safely say she is a national treasure!