Her taking piano lessons did not mean that her parents considered her - or for that matter, Hephzibah - capable of pursuing a career in music: Yaltah's mother in particular was firmly opposed to the idea that her daughters would follow in Yehudi's footsteps.
[3] One of Yaltah's earliest orchestral appearances was with Pierre Monteux and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, playing Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto.
Yaltah gave many first performances of works by Erich Zeisl, George Antheil, Ernst Krenek, Frank Martin, Louis Gruenberg, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Walter Piston.
The Menuhin-Ryce duo won the coveted Harriet Cohen International Music Award in 1962, in a programme largely devoted to works by Schubert for four hands.
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, she enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music in New York using the assumed name of "Kate Davis".
Highlights of Yaltah's career include a performance for Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle in 1973, when she played the Schubert Notturno with Yehudi and Ross Pople; the Mozart Double Piano Concerto with Hephzibah for the Willa Cather centenary celebrations in America, and a recital with Joel at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, when they played Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.
Yaltah died at her home in London on 9 June 2001, just a few days after giving her final recital at the Orwell Park School, Suffolk, of which she was Honorary Patron.
[1] The primary objective of the fund is to help develop the talents of young pianists who have already given proof of their outstanding musical ability and promise in the practice of their art, by means of awards and bursaries.
As part of the prize package for the Leeds International Piano Competition, the Yaltah Menuhin Award is presented to the pianist who demonstrates the greatest collaborative and empathetic qualities in the chamber performance of the semi-final.