BERLIN -- Violinist Yehudi Menuhin got so excited about conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on its 100th anniversary that he stood on his head -- and conducted with his feet.
Menuhin, 66, played his joke last Saturday, but it was not noted widely until a photograph taken byan orchestra member was printed in a West Berlin newspaper Wednesday.
The event was not a serious concert performance for the Berlin Philharmonic which is normally conducted by Herbert von Karajan, but a lighthearted revue to celebrate the orchestra's 100th anniversary.
The renowned violinist had joked with concertgoers that he always wondered why conductors turned their backs to the audience when they led the orchestra.
Menuhin, who practices Yoga and spends several minutes a day standing on his head, then put his feet in the air with his face to the audience and conducted the orchestra, to everyone's delight, with foot and leg movements.
