Itzhak Perlman, a gifted violinist, contracted polio at age four, which permanently damaged his legs. He persevered and learned to play the violin, becoming internationally known after winning the Levintritt Competition. He has performed with orchestras worldwide, won multiple awards, and recorded with film composers. Perlman also conducts and holds a chair at Julliard. He resides in New York with his wife and four children.
Itzhak Perlman is regarded as one of the most gifted violinists in the world, a person of extraordinary talent who persevered despite life-changing limitations. Born in Tel Aviv, Palestine, in 1945, Perlman contracted the polio virus at the age of four. Although he eventually learned to walk on crutches, the virus sadly and permanently damaged his legs and to this day he performs seated solo, which is unusual. However, Perlman was already starting to play the violin, which in previous interviews he has said he was strongly encouraged to play to improve finger mobility after his bout with polio.
This encouragement clearly worked, on what was probably a natural at any rate. After studying at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, he came to the United States and at the age of 13 had his first nationally televised performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. He went on to study at the Julliard School of Music in New York and in 1964 Itzhak Perlman won the highly competitive Levintritt Competition. This award made him internationally known and he began what has been an uninterrupted career of performing in orchestras around the world.
Itzhak Perlman’s career can be said to have had both highlights and higher lights. He seems to continually build on past successes and continues to win new fans, numerous awards and critical acclaim. Some of his more notable career moves include joining the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1987. The orchestra toured several Eastern Bloc countries for the first time, culminating with a performance in the Soviet Union in 1990. Perlman later returned to the Soviet Union in the same year to attend a concert, which honored Tchaikovsky’s birth, and he performed with musicians surely of his caliber, such as Yo-Yo Ma and Jessye Norman.
Recordings of Itzhak Perlman’s work abound and have earned him multiple Emmys and multiple Grammys. Perlman has also been honored with several prestigious awards from the United States. In 1986, Ronald Reagan presented Perlman with the Medal of Freedom, and in 2000, Perlman earned the National Medal of Arts. Perlman is also known for his collaborative efforts with some of today’s best-known film composers, such as John Williams. For Williams, Perlman recorded the beautiful violin solos for the film Schindler’s List. Most recently, Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma performed solo on the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack.
As one of the best violinists in the world, it is fitting that Itzhak Perlman performs on two of the best violins in the world: a 1714 Stradivarius and a Sauret Guarneri del Gesu built around 1740. However it would be wrong to label this musician as just a violinist. He is also a charming speaker who has delighted guests with his fine sense of humor in television appearances and hosting the popular PBS program The Three Tenors. He is committed to his support of public television and often appears on fundraising efforts of major PBS networks to entice people to donate.
In recent years, Perlman has begun to focus on conducting and was named principal conductor of the Westchester Philharmonic in 2007. He also continues his goal of delighting and educating people with music, and holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair at the Julliard. Itzhak Perlman currently resides with his wife, Toby, in New York and has four children.
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