Violin Megastar Itzhak Perlman Returns to Van Wezel, 3/1

Itzhak Perlman, the reigning virtuoso of the violin and one of the select few household names in classical music, returns by popular demand (with pianist, Rohan De Silva) to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Monday, Mar. 1 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $55-$85 (with a limited number of "smart seats" at $30).

The scheduled program includes Mozart's Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major, K. 376; Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, M. 8; and Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano, L. 140.

Perlman's performances are "everything one wants a violin sound to be," wrote veteran critic Andrew Porter in The New Yorker. Like the greatest and most sensitive singers, Perlman deploys his ravishing instrument with the inflections and drama of a universal language. His profound musicianship and technical prowess, coupled with his command of the most delicate articulation, has made him one of the greatest musicians of any age.

From the most jaded music lovers to the youngest initiates whose love of music Perlman loves to encourage, it is all but impossible to remain unmoved by the musician and his music. His adventurous repertory encompasses virtually the entire classical repertory for the violin as well as some of the most challenging and exciting music of today. A master of baroque, classical, romantic and modern music, he also has lavished his intensely joyful string sounds on everything from the brave old world of klezmer to the limitless frontiers of jazz.

Winner of four Emmy Awards and 15 Grammy Awards, Perlman took part in the Inauguration of President Obama, received a Medal of Liberty from President Reagan and the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton. In 2003, he was a Kennedy Center Honoree.

Sarasota residents have special reverence for Perlman, whose Perlman Music Program--co-founded with his wife Toby Perlman--holds its Winter Residency Program in Sarasota. The PMP provides a uniquely intensive two week residency for approximately 35 exceptionally talented young musicians (ages 12-20+) participating in the internationally renowned program.
Rohan De Silva has partnered with violin virtuosos Itzhak Perlman, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, Joshua Bell, Vadim Repin, Gil Shaham, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and others. He has been awarded numerous prizes and scholarships including a special prize as Best Accompanist at the 1990 Ninth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

The concert at the Van Wezel is sponsored by WUSF. The Orchestra and Classical Series continues with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra (Mar. 2) and Lang Lang with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra (Mar. 30).

For more information and to buy tickets, contact the Van Wezel Box Office at 941- 953-3368 or log onto www.vanwezel.org. Dinner is available prior to most shows by Michael's on East at the Van Wezel by calling (941) 366-0007 or logging onto www.bestfood.com.