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Itzhak Perlman

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-American violinist. He was born on 31 August 1945 in Tel Aviv, to Polish Jewish parents. At four he contracted polio. Since then he has walked with braces and crutches and played seated. At three he heard a recital by Jascha Heifetz on the radio, and that led him to the violin. At five he was admitted to the music academy of Tel Aviv, where he had lessons for eight years with Rivka Goldgart. He gave his first recital at ten.

Music and breakthrough

In 1958 he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, and again in 1964, on the same broadcast as the Rolling Stones. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1963 with the Wieniawski concerto and in 1964 won the Leventritt Competition. In 1965 he played for the first time with the New York Philharmonic, the Bruch violin concerto. At the end of the 1960s he began playing in Europe: in 1968 with the London Symphony Orchestra under André Previn and in 1972 with the Berliner Philharmoniker. He also conducted orchestras and in 1981 sang a small role on a recording of Tosca.

Influence

Perlman has won sixteen Grammys and four Emmys and in 2015 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2007 he played at a state dinner for Elizabeth II and in 2009 at the inauguration of Barack Obama. His warm, full tone made him one of the best-known violinists of his generation, even for people who rarely listen to classical music. In this way he brought the violin to a large audience.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the Bruch violin concerto and notice the tone in the slow passages: how long does he sustain a note, and how does the colour of the sound change?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists