Itzhak Perlman comes to for a special concert

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Apart from being an important violinist, Itzhak Perlman is also orchestras.

Perceived as one of the best violin players of 20th and 21st centuries, Itzhak Perlman will be giving a concert today at the Istanbul Congress Center. Perlman is also known for his musical performances in movies such as “Schindler’s List” and “Scent of a Woman.”

Perlman is coming to Istanbul with his $20,000 violin. Perlman plays on an antique Soil Stradivarius violin from 1714, which was once owned by Yehudi Menuhin and is considered to be one of the finest violins made during Stradivari’s “golden period.” Perlman also plays the Sauret by Guarneri del Gesu of 1743.

Perlmann has received four Emmy Awards and fifteen Grammy awards. He performed at the 2006 Academy Awards and at the Juilliard School Centennial gala, broadcast nationally on Live from Lincoln Center. Another of Perlman’s achievements is his collaboration with film score composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning film “Schindler’s List,” in which he performed the violin solos. In addition to his many orchestral and recital appearances throughout the world, Perlman performs as conductor with leading orchestras. He was the music adviser of the St. Louis Symphony from 2002 to 2004, and he was the principal guest conductor of the Detroit Symphony from 2001 to 2005.

Playing for world leaders

He has performed as conductor with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, National Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Montreal, Atlanta and Toronto, as well as at the Ravinia and OK Mozart festivals. Internationally, Perlman has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic. In January 2009 Perlman took part in the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama, premiering a piece written for the occasion by John Williams and performing with clarinetist Anthony McGill, pianist Gabriela Montero and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

In May 2007 he performed at the state dinner for the queen and the duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush and Laura Bush at the White House.

Perlman devotes considerable time to education, both in his participation each summer in the Perlman Music Program and his teaching at the Juilliard School, where he holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation chair. He was awarded an honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the occasion of Julliard’s 100th commencement ceremony in May 2005. The Perlman Music Program, founded in 1995 by Toby Perlman and Suki Sandler, started as a summer camp for exceptional string musicians between the ages of 11 and 18. Over time, it expanded to be offered as yearlong program. The program allows the students the chance to be coached by Itzhak Perlman himself before playing at venues such as the Sutton Place Synagogue and public schools. By introducing students to each other and requiring practice sessions together, musicians who would otherwise be practicing alone develop a network of friends.