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Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman's unique combination of talent, charm, and humanity is recognized by audiences throughout the world, as is the irrepressible joy of music-making that he communicates. In 1986 President Reagan recognized these qualities when he honored Mr. Perlman with a "Medal of Liberty." Born in Israel in 1945, Mr. Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv; an appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1958 brought him to international attention. Following studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Mr. Perlman won the Levintritt Competition in 1964; since then he has appeared with every major orchestra, and in recitals and festivals throughout the world. In April/May 1990 he was part of the Israel Philharmonic's history-making first visit to the Soviet Union. In December 1994 he joined that same orchestra for its first visits to China and India. In December 1990 he participated in a gala Leningrad performance celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's birth. In December 1993 he joined Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a gala Dvoùrák concert in Prague, later issued by Sony Classical on compact disc and home video; following the PBS broadcast of that concert, Messrs. Perlman and Ozawa received Emmy awards for "Individual Achievement in Cultural Programming." The violinist has also collaborated with John Williams and the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing the violin solos for Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning film, Schindler's List. Mr. Perlman's best-selling recordings-on Angel/EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, London/Decca, CBS Masterworks/Sony Classical, Erato/Elektra International Classics, and RCA/BMG Classics-have won fifteen Grammys. Recent releases include "The American Album," a Grammy-winning recording of works by Barber, Bernstein, and Foss with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony; the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Daniel Barenboim, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Berlin Philharmonic; "Bits and Pieces," a disc of short violin pieces with Samuel Sanders; and a collaboration with pianist Oscar Peterson, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Grady Tate in some of the great jazz classics. Throughout 1995, on the occasion of Mr. Perlman's fiftieth birthday, EMI honored him as "Artist of the Year" with the release of a twenty-one-disc set entitled "The Itzhak Perlman Collection." The release of that set coincided with "The Definitive Perlman Experience," in which he performed seven concertos in four concerts at London's Royal Festival Hall in June of that year. The Emmy-winning PBS television special "In the Fiddler's House" was the third of Mr. Perlman's television specials to win that award. Filmed in Poland in 1995, this Klezmer music program has since been released in audio and home video formats. A national tour of "In the Fiddler's House" took place in the summer of 1996 before capacity audiences, including stops at the Ravinia, Saratoga, Wolf Trap, and Great Woods festivals, the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, and Radio City Music Hall in New York. A second recording of klezmer music was subsequently released by EMI, and Mr. Perlman offered a similar klezmer program at Tanglewood last summer. Numerous publications and institutions have paid tribute to Itzhak Perlman as artist and humanitarian; he has entertained and enlightened millions with his appearances on television; his devotion to the cause of the handicapped and disabled is an integral part of his life. Mr. Perlman has performed regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1978, including annual appearances at Tanglewood since 1984.