His brilliance as a performer and conductor was matched by his concern for humanity and, most impressively, his work as an educator.

The BBC's Nick Higham looks back on the life of a musical genius

He was born in New York of Russian-Jewish parents, who nurtured his talents with the best teachers available. He was an astounding musical prodigy, making his debut at the age of seven. By the age of 13, he had performed in London, Paris and Berlin.

The young prodigy

Albert Einstein heard him and remarked: "Now I know there is a God in heaven". It was, Yehudi Menuhin freely admitted, a protected childhood.

"My parents chose the people" he said. "My mother was extremely exacting. No-one would cross the threshold whom she had any reservations about. They had to be people of genuine quality, of integrity."

Another admirer was that most English of composers, Sir Edward Elgar. In 1932, Elgar conducted his Violin Concerto in a classic recording with the 16-year old Menuhin - who later settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1985.

The Second World War saw Menuhin playing to troops throughout the world and in 1945 he performed for the survivors of the newly-liberated Belsen concentration camp.

He married his second wife, the ballerina Diana Gould, in 1947. She is credited with helping this intensely spiritual and humanitarian man through a period of depression.

Playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto while at the height of his powers

The 1950s saw Yehudi Menuhin at the height of his powers. One of the foremost violinists of his age, he delighted audiences around the world with his smoothness of tone and the sheer physicality of his performance.

His classical works, including his beloved Beethoven Violin Concert, were received rapturously wherever he played. But he wasn't afraid to experiment with different repertoires, playing with artists from the Indian sitar master, Ravi Shankar, to the virtuoso jazz violinist, Stephane Grappelli.

Besides music, his great love was education. In the 1960s he founded the Yehudi Menuhin school, especially for gifted young musicians.

With the Indian sitar master, Ravi Shankar

One of his pupils, Nigel Kennedy, has since found renown of his own as a violinist. He acknowledges his debt to his former teacher.

"He had this box of chocolates that he wanted to share with people, that was his attitude with music as far as I was concerned."