To whet your appetite for the big concert, we’ve compiled clips of five outstanding performances from throughout his career, with footage from as far back as the mid-1960s.
The different videos highlight Perlman’s incredible skill as well as his ability to deliver gripping performances in a variety of settings. He’s made memorable TV appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “Sesame Street” and appeared with countless orchestras over the past five decades.
Taken together, these videos paint a portrait of an amazing violinist who’s been one of the few household names in classical music for half a century.
A young Perlman played on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in the mid-1960s with a brilliant take on music from Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Sullivan invited Perlman on his show when the violinist was still in his teens:
Here’s Perlman as soloist (and conductor), performing "Spring" from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” with the Israel Philharmonic:
Yo-Yo Ma, another of the few true household names in classical music, performed alongside Perlman on Dvorak’s “Humoresque” in G flat:
Perlman contributed some particularly memorable and mournful playing to John Williams’ score from “Schindler’s List.” Here, he performs the film’s theme in concert:
Here’s Perlman, as expressive as ever, having fun with Fritz Kreisler’s “Syncopation” and Pable de Sarasate’s “Introduction and Tarantelle” with help from pianist Janet Guggenheim:
And here’s a bonus clip: Perlman on “Sesame Street,” performing alongside Telly Monster in a duet for violin and tuba:
CPR Classical will play recordings featuring Itzhak Perlman throughout the week. Listen online at cprclassical.org.
