Itzhak Perlman Performs Tchaikovsky with North Carolina Symphony Tonight, 5/15

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Violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman returns to the North Carolina Symphony tonight to perform Tchaikovsky's scintillating Violin Concerto. The special event concert, led by Symphony Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, takes place at Meymandi Concert Hall, in downtown Raleigh's Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, tonight, May 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ncsymphony.org or by calling North Carolina Symphony Audience Services at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724. Tickets will also be available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or 800.745.3000.

Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. In recent years, he took part in the inauguration of President Barack Obama, earned a Kennedy Center Honor for his distinguished achievements and contributions to the cultural and educational life of the United States and performed at a state dinner for The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush at the White House, among many other accomplishments.

He joins the Symphony on an evening of orchestral fireworks, including Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture and Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien. Perlman completes the powerhouse lineup with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, a composition whose technical demands are so challenging it was initially deemed unplayable. It has since become one of the most cherished solos in the violin literature, an emotional tour-de-force that is a particular specialty of the virtuoso.

The concert marks Perlman's fifth performance with the North Carolina Symphony. He was last with the orchestra in September 2005, when he joined conductor Leonard Slatkin and viola/violin Pinchas Zukerman for Mozart's Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major and Bach's Concerto in D minor for Two Violins.

Tickets to this special event concert featuring Itzhak Perlman range from $75 to $140. It is the final 2011/12 installment of the Symphony's four-concert Passport miniseries, presented with support from American Airlines. Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.