“Honey-toned. Velvety. A golden sound. These are just some of the terms that generations of music lovers have used to compliment the violin playing of Itzhak Perlman,” who turns 70 in August, writes Adam Baer in Sunday’s (7/12) Los Angeles Times. “A joyful Israeli prodigy televised by Ed Sullivan in 1958 … Perlman became a student of violin technique’s modernization, as disseminated by Juilliard’s Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay. This meant fewer French- and Russian-style slides, a cleaner bow arm and one sincerely huge sound…. Perlman was the most comfortable as a showman and violin ambassador. He could be on PBS’ ‘Live From Lincoln Center’ and ‘Sesame Street,’ and he was happy to help in the evolution of the klezmer, and recorded the theme to ‘Schindler’s List.’ … It’s the intelligently emotive playing and virtuosity of violinists like Perlman, to say nothing of his specific voice and ability to serve as a generous leader, that has helped push [today’s] intriguing players to love great music and develop new approaches.” Baer reviews Deutsche Grammophon’s recently released 25-CD boxed set of Perlman recordings for the DG and Decca labels.
Posted July 13, 2015
Pictured: Itzhak Perlman performs at New York’s Barclays Center, February 28, 2013. Photo by James Devaney/WireImage