Itzhak Perlman (; 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.

Early life

Perlman was born on August 31, 1945, in Tel Aviv. and plays the violin while seated. , he uses crutches or an electric scooter for mobility.

When Perlman was three years old, he listened to a violin recital on the radio featuring the violinist Jascha Heifetz. This experience 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. Despite this setback, he began learning the violin a year later, with his first teacher being a café violinist. At five years old, Perlman was admitted to the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv (now known as the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music), where he took violin lessons for eight years with Rivka Goldgart, a teacher of Russian origin. He gave his first recital at the age of ten. At thirteen, he moved to the United States to continue his violin studies at the Juilliard School in New York City and the Meadowmount School of Music in Essex County, New York,

Career

Performing

thumb|left|upright|[[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. 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. 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.

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. 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. He debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with the same concerto on February 17, 1966. In 1965, Perlman debuted with the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concert under Louis Lane. He debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival on August 4, 1966, in Tchaikovsky's Concerto with conductor Thomas Schippers. Perlman made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on December 16, 1966, playing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 under Erich Leinsdorf.

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. On May 25, 1972, Perlman debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic with the same concerto. 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.<!-- In the following years, Perlman toured as a soloist worldwide. In addition to an extensive recording and performance career,--> Perlman has made appearances on television shows such as The Tonight Show and Sesame Street.<!--

In 1987, Perlman joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) for its 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 again in 1994, performing in China and India.

In 2015, on a classical music program titled The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center produced by WQXR in New York City, it was revealed that Perlman performed the uncredited violin solo on the 1989 Billy Joel song "The Downeaster Alexa".-->

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. 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 and at the 78th Academy Awards. Perlman is represented by Charlotte Lee at Primo Artists.

Selected performances

thumb|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.

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."<!--

He made an appearance in Disney's Fantasia 2000 to introduce the segment Pines of Rome, along with Steve Martin.-->

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.

Teaching

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

Conducting

At the beginning of the new millennium, Perlman began to conduct. He took 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 his appointment 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 the Soil Stradivarius violin of 1714, formerly owned by Yehudi Menuhin and considered one of the finest violins made during Stradivari's "golden period".<!-- and the Carlo Bergonzi 1740 'ex-Kreisler'. -->

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. Perlman is a distant cousin of the Canadian comic and television personality Howie Mandel. He has synesthesia and was interviewed for Tasting the Universe by Maureen Seaberg, which is about the condition.

When asked about the Gaza war in 2024, Perlman stated that he was loyal to Israel.

Discography

Perlman has recorded music in many genres. In 2025, Deutsche Grammophon (DG) issued its complete 25 recordings with Perlman on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

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)
  • Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole / Ravel: Tzigane (RCA Red 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)
  • Schumann – Bach – Brahms (Warner Classics, 2016)
  • April 1980: Newsweek magazine featured Mr.&nbsp;Perlman with a cover story.
  • 1986: Honored with the Medal of Liberty by President Reagan.
  • 1992: Emmy Award: Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts: Perlman in Russia
  • 1994: Emmy Award: Outstanding Individual Achievement: Cultural Programming
  • 1996: Emmy Award: Outstanding Cultural Music-Dance Program: Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House
  • 1999: Emmy Award: Outstanding Classical Music-Dance Program: Itzhak Perlman: Fiddling for the Future
  • 2000: Awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton
  • 2008: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
  • 2016: Awarded the Genesis Prize by the Prime Minister of Israel.
  • 2017: Subject of the documentary Itzhak directed by Alison Chernick.

References

  • Itzhak Perlman Primo Artists
  • Itzhak Perlman biography in the World Concert Artist Directory
  • PBS American Masters: Itzhak
  • Itzhak Perlman question and answer session, March 19, 2011
  • The Perlman Music Program