Acts as cultural ambassador of goodwill by giving concerts in Bulgaria for two weeks, in Ankara, Beirut and Tehran. Strikes up a lifetime friendship in Sofia with musicians Jerzy Semkow and Jean-Bernard Pommier and Ambassador Eugenie Anderson who later introduces him to Hubert Humphrey. From May to October, gives 80 concerts in Europe and Israel, including a series of 9 concerts with the Israel Philharmonic under the young Zubin Mehta. Takes part, alone or with Stern and Rose, in almost every major European festival (Aix, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Israel, Menton, Montreux). Shattered by Kennedy’s assassination.