About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

This time capsule takes us back to Itzhak Perlman's first trip to the recording studio in 1965, as a 19-year-old violinist on the verge of classical superstardom. Amazingly, the results of those sessions have remained in the vaults for almost four decades -- but heard today, they measure up to Perlman at his finest. At the time, his label decided to launch his recording career instead with a more dramatic program of concertos by Sibelius and Prokofiev, but this recital would have introduced him as a fully rounded artist in an impressive range of repertoire. Virtuosity is on display in three of the Paganini Caprices (including the famously formidable 24th); Perlman's later recording of the entire set is one of the gems of his discography, but his takes here are just as diabolically impressive. Also featured are short, lyrical works by Paul Ben-Haim and Ernest Bloch, in which the violinist pays tribute to his Jewish heritage, and other bonbons that bring out his fiery side again (but don't let Sarasate's Navarra fool you into thinking that Perlman is completely superhuman; here he's heard playing both parts of a duet through overdubbing). Most intriguing, though, are the violin sonatas at the core of this recital: two Baroque works, by Handel and Leclair, and Hindemith's neo-Baroque sonata of 1918, none of which Perlman has re-recorded since. There's nothing flashy about these three pieces, but they also leave nowhere for a violinist to hide. What they require is musical maturity -- interpretive sensitivity, solid technique, beauty of tone, and a confidence in simplicity, too -- all of which Perlman already possessed in spades in 1965. Scott Paulin, Barnes & Noble

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