Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-American violinist, conductor, and pedagogue.
Early life Perlman was born in Tel Aviv, then British
Mandate of Palestine, now Israel. His parents, Chaim and Shoshana Perlman, were natives of
Poland and had independently immigrated to Palestine in the mid-1930s before they met
and got married. Perlman first became interested in the violin
after hearing a classical music performance on the radio. At the age of three, he was
denied admission to the Shulamit Conservatory for being too small to hold a violin. He instead
taught himself how to play the instrument using a toy fiddle until he was old enough
to study with Rivka Goldgart at the Shulamit Conservatory and at the Academy of Music in
Tel Aviv, where he gave his first recital at age 10, before moving to the United States
to study at the Juilliard School with the violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian and his assistant
Dorothy DeLay. Perlman contracted polio at age four. He made
a good recovery, learning to walk with crutches. Today, he uses crutches or an electric Amigo
scooter for mobility and plays the violin while seated.
Career Performing
Perlman was introduced to the wider American public when he appeared on The Ed Sullivan
Show twice in 1958, and again in 1964, on the same show with the Rolling Stones. He
made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1963 and won the Leventritt Competition in 1964. Soon
afterward, he began to tour widely. In addition to an extensive recording and performance
career, he has continued to make guest appearances on American television shows such as The Tonight
Show and Sesame Street as well as playing at a number of functions at the White House.
Although he has never been billed or marketed as a singer, he sang the role of "Un carceriere"
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. Perlman is a basso. On July 5, 1986, he performed on the New York
Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised
live on ABC Television in the United States. The orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta, performed
in Central Park. In 1987, he joined the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra for their concerts in Warsaw and Budapest as well as other cities in Eastern
bloc countries. He toured with the IPO in the spring of 1990 for its first-ever performance
in the Soviet Union, with concerts in Moscow and Leningrad, and toured with the IPO again
in 1994, performing in China and India. While primarily a solo artist, Perlman has
performed with a number of other notable musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Isaac Stern,
and Yuri Temirkanov at the 150th anniversary celebration of Tchaikovsky in Leningrad in
December 1990. He has also performed with good friend and fellow Israeli violinist Pinchas
Zukerman on numerous occasions over the years. 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, and in addition, klezmer. Perlman has been a soloist for a
number of film scores such as the theme of the 1993 film Schindler's List by John Williams,
which subsequently won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. More recently, he was
the violin soloist for 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 Yo-Yo Ma and at the 78th Academy Awards.
Notable performances
Perlman played at the state dinner attended by Queen Elizabeth II on May 7, 2007, in the
East Room at the White House. He performed John Williams's "Air and Simple
Gifts" at the 2009 inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama along with Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela
Montero, and Anthony McGill. While the quartet did play live, the music played simultaneously
over speakers and on television was a recording made two days prior due to concerns over the
cold weather damaging the instruments. Perlman was quoted as saying: "It would have been
a disaster if we had done it any other way". Additionally, he has twice performed as a
Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in
2003 and 2007. He performed the Bruch Violin Concerto with
the Eastman Philharmonia Orchestra on February 22, 2014, where he was awarded an Honorary
Doctor of Music Degree. Teaching
In 1975, Perlman accepted a faculty post at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College.
In 2003, Mr. Perlman was named the holder of the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation
Chair in Violin Studies at the Juilliard School, succeeding his teacher, Dorothy DeLay. Perlman
teaches at the Juilliard School for the precollege program. He also currently instructs pupils
on a one-on-one basis at the Perlman Music Program on Long Island, NY, rarely holding
master classes. He also taught at a community center in Be'er Sheba, Israel, Perlman generously
shares his knowledge with the public outside of formal teaching positions as well. On March
19, 2011, for example, prior to his performance at the Lila Cockrell Theater in downtown San
Antonio, TX, Itzhak Perlman met with music lovers of all ages, including local youth
orchestras, for a free question-and-answer session moderated by Dr. Eugene Dowdy, associate
professor and head of orchestral studies at UT San Antonio. During the teaching session,
at Antonio Strad Violin, Perlman educated both children and adults with his answers
to questions on technique and playing fitness and his unique tales of performers today.
The Perlman Music Program The Perlman music program, founded in 1995
by Toby Perlman and Suki Sandler, started as a summer camp for exceptional string musicians
between the ages of 11 and 18. Over time, it expanded to be offered year-long. The program
allows the students the chance to be coached by Itzhak Perlman himself before playing at
venues such as the Sutton Place Synagogue and public schools. By introducing students
to each other and requiring practice sessions together, musicians who would otherwise be
practicing alone develop a network of friends and colleagues in the profession. Rather than
remain isolated, participants in the program find an area where they belong.
Conducting In recent years, Perlman has begun to conduct,
taking the post of principal guest conductor at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He served
as music advisor to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2002 to 2004. In November 2007,
the Westchester Philharmonic announced the appointment of Perlman as artistic director
and principal conductor. His first concert in these roles was on October 11, 2008, in
an all-Beethoven program featuring pianist Leon Fleisher performing the Emperor Concerto.
Instruments Perlman plays using the antique Soil Stradivarius
violin of 1714, formerly owned by Yehudi Menuhin and considered to be one of the finest violins
made during Stradivari's "golden period." Perlman also plays the Sauret Guarneri del
Gesu of c. 1743.Guarneri del Gesu 1743 'Sauret'Carlo Bergonzi 1740 'ex-Kreisler'
Personal life Perlman resides in New York City with his
wife, Toby, also a classically trained violinist. They have five children: Noah, Navah, Leora,
Rami and Ariella. Perlman is a distant cousin to Canadian comic/TV personality Howie Mandel.
Honors and awards Leventritt Competition – Winner
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance: Daniel Barenboim & Itzhak Perlman for Brahms:
The Three Violin Sonatas Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lynn Harrell & Itzhak
Perlman for Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lynn Harrell & Itzhak Perlman for Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A Minor
Itzhak Perlman & Pinchas Zukerman for Music for Two Violins
Itzhak Perlman & Vladimir Ashkenazy for Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance
Grammy Award for Best Classical Album Kennedy Center Honors in 2003
April 1980: Newsweek magazine featured Mr. Perlman with a cover story.
1986: Honored with the Medal of Liberty by President Reagan.
2000: Awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.
References
External links IMG Artists Biography
Official Myspace page Itzhak Perlman at AllMusic
Itzhak Perlman at the Internet Movie Database Itzhak Perlman biography in the World Concert
Artist Directory Itzhak Perlman interview on The Charlie Rose
Show, 8-9-2010 Itzhak Perlman question and answer session
3-19-2011 Itzhak Perlman & John Williams interview on
The Charlie Rose Show, 8-8-1997