Itzhak Perlman was born in Tel Aviv on 31st August 1945 to a family of Polish origin. He was drawn to the violin from the age of three, but when he was four he contracted polio, losing the use of his legs. Despite his handicap, he began learning the violin a year later, and his first teacher was a café violinist. Very soon, he joined the Tel Aviv Music Academy where he studied for eight years with Rivka Goldgart, a teacher of Russian origin.

Lilting melodies and exhilarating dance rhythms; gentle pathos, brooding drama and robust high spirits; the spirit of rural Bohemia and the sophistication of Prague, Vienna, New York and London in the late 19th century: Antonin Dvořák’s music is unfailingly distinctive and captivating. In all his works – from the epic ‘New World’ Symphony and Cello Concerto to the irresistible Slavonic Dances, haunting ‘American’ String Quartet, quirky violin Humoresque and yearning Song to the Moon – he is a composer whose heart is open and generous, and whose love for his homeland always shines through. This box provides an illuminating and enriching survey of his works, including his complete symphonies. A number of the celebrated performers have Slavonic roots themselves; all their interpretations draw on a deep affinity with Dvořák’s inspiration and humanity.

Ray Still, principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for forty years, was praised by the Chicago Tribune for his “distinctively rich, mellow, singing tone”. He joins Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Lynn Harrell in this programme of oboe quartets, with Mozart as the centrepiece.

Here's a deluxe package if ever there were one! Itzhak Perlman and Jorge Bolet join the Juilliard Quartet in a smashing performance of one of the most unusual works in all of music. Chausson's Concert (not "Concerto," please note) really is, in effect, a violin concerto in which the accompaniment is not the full orchestra but a piano quintet. Add to that the fully symphonic form of the piece, and the result is a unique musical creation that remains one of the chamber-music repertoire's best-kept secrets. Listen to this recording, and you'll be amazed that the music's not better known.

John Williams skillfully utilizes the formidable talents of renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and equally beloved violinist Itzhak Perlman to flesh out director Rob Marshall's celluloid rendering of the bestselling novel by Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha. Elegant and predictable, Williams sticks to the source, building grand Western themes off of traditional Japanese melodies with a heady mix of regional instrumentation (shakuhachi and koto) and cinematic know-how.

The 12 recordings on CLASSIC PERLMAN - RHAPSODY were selected specifically to showcase the unparalleled lyricism of the brilliant violinist Itzhak Perlman. The emphasis here is not so much on his flawless technique, but on his warm, radiant tone, innate musicality, and the beauty of his phrasing. Perlman's emotional commitment is evident in expressive readings of classics such as the Adagio from Brahms's Third Sonata, Paganini's Cantabile for Violin and Guitar, and Dvorák's Romance in F Minor.

In his second EMI Classics recordings of Bruch’s two best-loved works, Perlman is joined by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta. He dedicated this recording to his great predecessor Jascha Heifetz, saying that “his artistry will always be my inspiration”.

Giants from two musical worlds meet as Itzhak Perlman and Plácido Domingo come together to perform music ranging from Handel to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Strauss, and from “Danny Boy” to operetta and tango. Voice and violin entwine to irresistible effect.

In his introductory note to this CD, Itzhak Perlman informs us that, more than anything else he has recorded, this is truly his own music–"what you might hear if you came to my house and I decided to jam with some friends." And jam he does–with some very talented friends indeed. Klezmer music, which combines the folk and religious music of Yiddish-speaking cultures with various musical traditions of countries such as Russia, Turkey, and Greece, is unusual territory for a major label and a superstar artist, but here the combination works perfectly.

There are two really famous Beethoven violin sonatas, the Kreutzer and the Spring. The Kreutzer Sonata inspired the story by Leo Tolstoy, which in turn became the subject of Janácek's First String Quartet, so if you're into comparative studies in the arts, there's a thesis topic for you! The Spring Sonata was featured in Woody Allen's Love and Death, among other places. And perhaps most intriguingly of all, the scherzo of the late sonata, Op. 96, turns up quite clearly in the third movement of Mahler's Second Symphony.

Perlman and Zuckerman are great violinists. Their rendition of the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Orchestra is magnificent. The Allegro Maestoso first movement is delightful and lively. The rest of the slower movements are graceful and charming. If you are a fan of Mozart, you will love this cd. Not like the Violin Concertos because the Concertante is more of a lighter and less "complex " work, but still a masterpiece. It is garuanteed to be of your liking.

To most, the names of the composers on this disc will be unfamiliar, but students of the violin will either smile or shudder in recognition. These men were violin pedagogues: some, such as Giovanni Battista Viotti and Charles August de Bériot, were historically important theorizers on the art of fiddle playing, but all of them wrote didactic concerti for the advanced beginner or intermediate student, little pieces that have been sawed away at by grade school age prodigies for a century and a half.

Wieniawski's scintillating works are played with brilliance and great musical charm here by Perlman and Sanders (piano) for the duets, and Ozawa conducting the LPO for the concertos. It is somtimes said that Perlman's playing has often been recorded too "forward", so one can hear the "between the notes" bowing sounds when he plays.

Originally released in the 1980s as separate albums, Itzhak Perlman's recordings of Mozart's violin sonatas were reissued in this box set in 1991 as a special collector's edition. In these sonatas for keyboard and violin, the piano dominates as the violin often tags along in unison with the piano's melody, rarely departing from it except in an ornamental capacity. Even so, Perlman brings his customary good humor and energy to these pieces, and through his vibrant and spirited playing makes the violin's obbligato more or less equal to the pianist's elaborate part.