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Violin virtuoso Perlman comes to UA's Centennial Hall

A sold-out crowd at UA's Centennial Hall welcomes world-renowned musician Itzhak Perlman to Tucson on Wednesday, as the Grammy-winning artist makes a stop in Arizona during his world tour.

A 15-time Grammy award winner, Perlman has released an abundance of violin solo pieces and has recorded chamber music with world-class musicians such as Pinchas Zukerman, Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

He has also experimented with other forms of music, including a disc of Scott Joplin rags and a project with jazz legend Oscar Peterson.

Perlman has mesmerized millions with his performances and his battle with polio, which began when the musician was four years old. He continues to walk with leg braces and crutches, and is the only violin soloist who plays while sitting down.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1945, Perlman began studying violin on a toy fiddle before his parents purchased a used violin for $6.

He first gained international recognition when, at age 13, he appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show." This culminated in an extended stay in the U.S., during which he studied at the Julliard School in New York with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay.

In 1964, at age 19, Perlman won the coveted Levintritt Memorial Competition and since has gone on to perform with every major orchestra in the world. In 1986, President Reagan recognized his greatness when he honored Perlman with a "Medal of Liberty."

In Nov. 1987, Perlman traveled with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra to Warsaw and Budapest during the orchestra's first visit to Eastern bloc countries. Other historic journeys in his career include the Soviet Union in 1990, followed by trips to India and China in 1994, all with the Israeli Philharmonic.

In 1993, he traveled to Prague with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a gala Dvorak concert, from which Perlman and Ozawa shared an Emmy award for "Individual Achievement in Cultural Programming" for the PBS television broadcast.

The violinist also accompanied John Williams and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performing the solos for Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning film, "Schindler's List."

Numerous organizations and publications have honored Perlman not only for his musical talents but also for his role as a humanitarian.

Newsweek featured Perlman in a cover story, and he also appeared in Musical America's Directory of Music and Musicians as its artist of the year. He has received honorary degrees at several institutions including Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew Universities.

Through the years, he has made guest appearances on the "Late Show with David Letterman," "Sesame Street," the "Tonight Show," many Grammy Awards telecasts and several "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcasts.

His schedule for the 1999/2000 season includes concerts in Europe with the English Chamber Orchestra. Perlman also plans to develop his role as a conductor with other prominent European orchestras.