Itzhak Perlman

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Itzhak Perlman (Template:Langx; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama. He has conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Westchester Philharmonic. In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Perlman has won 16 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and four Emmy Awards.<ref name="AmMstrs">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Perlman was born on August 31, 1945, in Tel Aviv.<ref name="auto" /> His parents, Chaim and Shoshana Perlman, were Jewish natives of Poland and had independently emigrated to Mandatory Palestine in the mid-1930s before they met and later married. Perlman contracted polio at age four and has walked using leg braces and crutches since then<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and plays the violin while seated. Template:As of, he uses crutches or an electric scooter for mobility.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

When Perlman was three years old, he sat and listened attentively to a violin recital on the radio, which inspired him to become a violinist. His mother soon bought him a toy violin, and he quickly taught himself to play melodies. His parents tried to enroll him at the Shulamit Conservatory, but he was denied admission for being too small to hold a violin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite his handicap, he began learning the violin a year later. His first teacher was a café violinist. At age five, Perlman was admitted to the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv (now the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music), where he studied for eight years with Rivka Goldgart, a violin teacher of Russian origin, and gave his first recital at age ten.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> He moved to the United States at age 13 to study violin at the Juilliard School in New York City and the Meadowmount School of Music in Essex County, New York,<ref name="AmMstrs"/> with Ivan Galamian and his assistant Dorothy DeLay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Performing

Ed Sullivan congratulates 13-year-old Perlman after a concert (1958)

Perlman gained national attention when he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show twice in 1958 at 13 years old, and again in 1964, on the same show with the Rolling Stones.<ref>Template:Cite web Duration: 60 min </ref> His performances on the show included pieces such as Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, Wieniawski's Polonaise Brillante, and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1963 and 1964, Perlman made appearances with the National Orchestra Association in Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 1, the New York Youth Orchestra in Beethoven's Violin Concerto, and with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

With the Zionist Organization of America's sponsorship, Perlman began touring cities in the U.S. and Canada as a soloist, and quickly established himself as a leading virtuoso.<ref name="auto"/> He made his Carnegie Hall debut performing Wieniawski's Concerto in 1963 and won the Leventritt Competition in 1964.<ref name="AmMstrs"/> From 1964 to 1966, Perlman embarked on his first notable concert tour in the United States, performed in 30 cities, including Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Denver, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New Haven, Seattle, and St. Louis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Perlman returned twice to the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. During the later part of 1964, Perlman gave several concerts in Israel, a tour that concluded with the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv.<ref name="auto" />

Perlman first appeared with the New York Philharmonic at the Philharmonic Hall as a soloist on May 9, 1965, playing Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 under William Steinberg.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with the same concerto on February 17, 1966.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1965, Perlman debuted with the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concert under Louis Lane.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival on August 4, 1966, in Tchaikovsky's Concerto with conductor Thomas Schippers.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Perlman made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on December 16, 1966, playing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 under Erich Leinsdorf.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Starting in the late 1960s, Perlman began to tour Europe. He debuted with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1968, performing Tchaikovky's Concerto under the direction of André Previn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On May 25, 1972, Perlman debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic with the same concerto.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This was shortly followed by his debut at the Salzburg Festival with a solo performance of Schubert's Rondo and Fantasy and the Violin Sonata No. 3 by Brahms with Joseph Kalichstein on August 19, 1972. The next day, Perlman performed Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 with the Vienna Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Perlman has made appearances on television shows such as The Tonight Show and Sesame Street.<ref name="Winship" />

Although Perlman has never been billed or marketed as a singer, he sang the role of "Un carceriere" ("a jailer") on a 1981 EMI recording of Puccini's "Tosca" that featured Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, and Renato Bruson, with James Levine conducting. He had earlier sung the role in an excerpt from the opera on a 1980 Pension Fund Benefit Concert telecast as part of the Live from Lincoln Center series with Luciano Pavarotti as Cavaradossi and Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic.

On July 5, 1986, Perlman performed at the New York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised live on ABC. The orchestra, conducted by Mehta, performed in Central Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

While primarily a solo artist, Perlman has performed with a number of other musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, Jessye Norman, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Isaac Stern, and Yuri Temirkanov at the 150th anniversary celebration of Tchaikovsky in Leningrad in December 1990. As well as playing and recording the classical music for which he is best known, Perlman has also played jazz, including an album made with jazz pianist Oscar Peterson; klezmer; and bluegrass music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has been a soloist in a number of film scores, such as the theme of the 1993 film Schindler's List by John Williams, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. More recently, he was the violin soloist in the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha along with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Perlman played selections from the musical scores of the movies nominated for "Best Original Score" at the 73rd Academy Awards with Ma<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and at the 78th Academy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Perlman is represented by Charlotte Lee at Primo Artists.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Selected performances

Perlman at the White House in 2007

Perlman played at the state dinner attended by Queen Elizabeth II on May 7, 2007, in the East Room at the White House.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

He performed John Williams's "Air and Simple Gifts" at the 2009 inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama along with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Gabriela Montero, and clarinetist Anthony McGill. The quartet played live, but the music played simultaneously over speakers and on television was a recording made two days earlier due to concerns that the cold weather could damage the instruments. Perlman was quoted as saying: "It would have been a disaster if we had done it any other way."<ref>Quartet pre-recorded Obama music. BBC News (January 23, 2009).</ref>

On November 2, 2018, Perlman reprised the 60th anniversary of his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show as a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Teaching

In 1975, Perlman accepted a faculty post at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College.<ref name="Winship">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2003, he was named the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair in Violin Studies at the Juilliard School, succeeding his teacher, Dorothy DeLay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also teaches students one-on-one at the Perlman Music Program on Long Island, NY, rarely holding master classes.<ref name="Winship" />

The Perlman Music Program

The Perlman Music Program, founded in 1994 by Perlman's wife, Toby Perlman, and Suki Sandler, started as a summer camp for exceptional string musicians between the ages of 12 and 18.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over time, it expanded to a yearlong program. Students have the chance to have Perlman coach them before they play at venues such as the Sutton Place Synagogue and public schools.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By introducing students to each other and requiring them to practice together, the program strives to have musicians who would otherwise practice alone develop a network of friends and colleagues. Rather than remain isolated, participants in the program find an area where they belong.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Instruments

Perlman plays the Soil Stradivarius violin of 1714, formerly owned by Yehudi Menuhin and considered one of the finest violins made during Stradivari's "golden period".<ref name="Winship" /><ref name="cozio" /> Perlman also plays the Guarneri del Gesù 1743 'Sauret'.<ref name="cozio">Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Perlman lives in New York City with his wife, Toby, also a classically trained violinist. They met as students and married in 1967. They have five children, including Navah Perlman, a concert pianist and chamber musician.<ref name="Winship" /> Perlman is a distant cousin of the Canadian comic and television personality Howie Mandel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has synesthesia and was interviewed for Tasting the Universe by Maureen Seaberg, which is about the condition.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Discography

Perlman has recorded music in many genres.<ref name="Allmusic">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2025, Deutsche Grammophon (DG) issued its complete 25 recordings with Perlman on the occasion of his 80th birthday.<ref name="DG">Template:Cite web</ref>

From 1960s

  • Prokofieff: Concerto No. 2 in G Minor / Sibelius: Concerto in D Minor (RCA Victor, 1967)
  • Franck: Sonata for Violin & Piano (Vladimir Ashkenazy) in A Major / Brahms: Trio for Violin, Horn (Barry Tuckwell) and Piano in E flat Major (London Records, 1969)<ref name="Haylock">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
  • Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole / Ravel: Tzigane (RCA Gold Seal, 1969)

From 1970s

  • Prokofiev: Sonatas for Violin and Piano, No. 1, Op. 80 / No. 2, Op. 94a (RCA Red Seal, 1969 & RCA Gold Seal, 1975)
  • The 24 Caprices, Op. 1 by Paganini (Angel Records, 1972)
  • Bach: Double Concerto in D Minor, Violin Concerto No. 2 in E, Violin Concerto in G Minor (Angel 1972)
  • Wieniawski: The Two Violin Concertos (Angel, 1973)
  • Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2 (Angel, 1974)
  • Perpetual Motion (Angel, 1974)
  • Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto / Dvořák: Romance (RCA Gold Seal, 1975)
  • Ravel; Saint-Saëns; Chausson (Angel, 1975)
  • Paganini; Giuliani: Duos for Violin & Guitar (John Williams) (CBS, 1976)
  • Sibelius Violin Concerto / Prokofieff Violin Concerto No. 2 (RCA, 1976)
  • Itzhak Perlman plays Stravinsky (1976)
  • Itzhak Perlman plays Fritz Kreisler (1976)
  • Itzhak Perlman plays Fritz Kreisler, Volume 2 (1977)
  • Goldmark: Violin Concerto No. 1 / Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen (Angel, 1977)
  • Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46 / Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 44 (Angel, 1977)
  • Duets for Two Violins (Angel, 1977)
  • Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano, Volume 4 (London Records, 1977)
  • Brahms: Violin Concerto (Angel, 1977)
  • Vieuxtemps: Violin Concertos No. 4 in D Minor / No.5 in A Minor (Angel, 1978)
  • First Recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (Quintessence Records, 1978)
  • Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major & Serenade Melancolique (Angel, 1979)
  • Virtuoso Violinist (Angel, 1979)
  • Berg: Violin Concerto (DG, 1979)<ref name="DG" />
  • Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano (London Records, 1979)
  • Encores (Angel, 1979)<ref name="Haylock" />
  • Dohnanyi: Serenade / Beethoven: Serenade (Columbia Masterworks, 1979)

From 1980s

  • The Spanish Album (Angel, 1980)
  • Itzhak Perlman plays Fritz Kreisler, Volume 3 (1980)
  • Berg: Violin Concerto / Stravinsky: Violin Concerto (DG, 1980)<ref name="DG" />
  • Itzhak Perlman & Pinchas Zukerman Play Music for Two Violins (1980)
  • Sibelius: Violin Concerto / Sinding: Suite in A Minor (Angel, 1980)
  • A Different Kind of Blues (EMI/Angel, 1980)
  • It's a Breeze (EMI/Angel, 1981)
  • Bartok Duos For Two Violins (Angel, 1981)
  • Itzhak Perlman (Great Performers series, 1981)
  • The Great Romantic Violin Concertos (Angel, 1981)
  • Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Op. 61 (EMI, 1981)
  • Korngold: Concerto in D / Conus: Concerto in E Minor (EMI, 1981)
  • Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole / Berlioz: Reverie Et Caprice (DG, 1981)<ref name="DG" />
  • The Two Violin Concertos by Prokofiev (Angel, 1982)
  • Elgar: Violin Concerto (DG, 1982)<ref name="DG" />
  • Beethoven: Violin Sonatas, Kreutzer - Spring (London Records, 1983)
  • Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 3 & 5 (DG, 1983)<ref name="DG" />
  • Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 / Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No.2 (DG, 1983)<ref name="DG" />
  • Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole / Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No.3 (DG, 1983)<ref name="DG" />
  • Bach: Double Concerto, with Isaac Stern (CBS Records, 1983)
  • Chausson: Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet (CBS Masterworks, 1983)
  • Kim: Violin Concerto / Starer: Violin Concerto (Angel, 1984)
  • Khatchaturian: Violin Concerto / Tchaikovsky: Meditation Op. 42, No. 1 (Angel, 1984)
  • Vivaldi: Four Violin Concertos (Angel, 1984)
  • Mozart: Violin Sonatas, K. 301, 302, 303 & 304 (DG, 1984)<ref name="DG" />
  • Mendelssohn: Concerto in E Minor / Concerto No. 1 in G Minor (Angel, 1984)
  • Bach: Violin Concertos in D Minor & G Minor / Concerto for Violin & Oboe in C Minor (Angel, 1984)
  • Brahms: The Sonatas for Violin and Piano / Sonatensatz / Four Hungarian Dances (Angel, 1985)
  • Dvořák: Sonatine in G, Four Romantic Pieces; Smetana: From My Homeland (Angel, 1985)
  • Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante K. 364 / Concertone K. 190 (DG, 1985)<ref name="DG" /><ref name="Haylock" />
  • Violinkonzerte Nos. 3 & 4 by W.A. Mozart (1986)
  • Mozart: The 5 Violin Concertos (DG, 1986)<ref name="DG" />
  • Mozart: Violin Concerto No.1, Adagio K. 261, Rondo K. 373, Rondo K. 261a (DG, 1986)<ref name="DG" />
  • Tradition: Itzhak Perlman Plays Jewish Melodies (1987)
  • Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50 (EMI, 1987)
  • My Favourite Kreisler (Angel, 1987)
  • Dvořák: Violin Concerto, Romance (EMI, 1987)
  • Bach: Sonatas and Partitas (EMI, 1988)
  • A Tribute To Jascha Heifetz (EMI, 1989)

From 1990s

  • Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (1990)
  • Saint-Saëns; Sarasate; Chausson / Ravel (DG, 1990)<ref name="DG" />
  • Brahms: The 3 Violin Sonatas (Sony Classical, 1990)
  • Mozart: Sonatas for Piano and Violin, K. 378, K. 379 & K. 380 (DG, 1990)<ref name="DG" />
  • 24 Caprices: Paganini (EMI, 1991)
  • Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 / Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy (EMI, 1991)
  • Mozart: Sonatas for Piano and Violin, K. 526 & K. 547 (DG, 1991)<ref name="DG" />
  • Vivaldi: Four Violin Concertos (EMI, 1991)
  • Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (EMI, 1991)
  • Mozart: Duos for Violin & Viola / Leclair: Sonata for 2 Violins (RCA Victor, 1991)
  • Vivaldi: The Four Seasons / 3 Violin Concertos (1992)
  • Castelnuovo-Tedesco & Ben-Haim: Violin Concertos (EMI, 1992)
  • Brahms: Violin Concerto (EMI, 1992)
  • The Art of Itzhak Perlman (1993)
  • Prokofiev: Violin Sonatas / Concerto No.2 (1994)
  • Bits and Pieces (EMI, 1994)
  • The American Album (EMI, 1994)
  • Dvořák in Prague: A Celebration (Sony Classical, 1994, and Kultur Video, 2007)
  • The American Album (1995)
  • In the Fiddler's House (1995)
  • A La Carte (EMI, 1995)
  • Wieniawski by Itzhak Perlman (EMI, 1995)
  • Live In The Fiddler's House (Angel, 1996)
  • Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 (EMI, 1997)
  • Cinema Serenade (Sony Classical, 1997)
  • Stravinsky: Violin Concerto / Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 (Teldec 1997)
  • Brahms: Double Concerto / Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (Teldec 1997)
  • Holiday Tradition (1998)
  • Brahms: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3 (EMI, 1998)
  • Itzhak Perlman's Greatest Hits (EMI, 1998)
  • Concertos from My Childhood (EMI, 1999)

After 2000

  • Violin Concertos / Romance (RCA Red Seal 1968, BMG Classics, 2000)
  • Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 (EMI, 2002)
  • Classic Perlman - Rhapsody (2002)
  • Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas (Decca, 2002)
  • The Perlman Edition: Tradition (EMI, 2003)
  • Perlman Rediscovered (2004)
  • The Essential Itzhak Perlman (Sony Classical, 2009)
  • Eternal Echoes: Songs and Dances for the Soul (Sony Classical, 2012) with Yitzchak Meir Helfgot
  • Itzhak Perlman & Emanuel Ax: Fauré & Strauss Violin Sonatas (Universal Music Classics, 2015)
  • The Perlman Sound (Warner Classics, 2015)<ref name="Warner">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Schumann – Bach – Brahms (Warner Classics, 2016)<ref name="Warner" />
  • The Art of Itzhak Perlman (Sony Classical, 2016)

With Andre Previn

  • The Easy Winners (Angel Records, 1975 / EMI, 1986)

With Placido Domingo

  • Together (EMI, 1991)

With Oscar Peterson

  • Side by Side (TELARC CD-83341 1994)

Honors and awards

References

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