Violin virtuoso Perlman tries teaching, conducting

He's played for U.S. presidents and for Muppets.

Itzhak Perlman, who appears this weekend with the Omaha Symphony, is about as close as classical music gets to a household name.

The 64-year-old violinist has performed with every major orchestra in the world and has won a slew of Grammy awards and honorary doctorates.

He also has been a regular on American television since 1958, appearing on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and “Sesame Street.”

We recently spoke by phone with Perlman, who was at home in New York City, about some of his career highlights and views on music.

Q. You played on the soundtrack to “Schindler's List,” which is also the music you're going to play in Omaha. How did you get involved with the film?

A. I got a call one afternoon from composer John Williams, and he told me he was writing music for Steven Spielberg's Holocaust film. He wanted the score to include violin solos and wanted to know if I'd be interested in playing them. I was fascinated but wasn't sure what he'd write because I knew he wasn't Jewish. But you couldn't tell that from the score, which turned out to be a musical miracle. The concert arrangement I'll play in Omaha is one of my favorite pieces.

q. Williams also wrote music for President Barack Obama's inauguration, but there was a minor controversy because you played to a recording. What happened?

a. We didn't have a choice. It was 28 degrees outside, with a wind chill of 5 degrees. When it's that cold, a string instrument won't make a sound. That was a historic event, and it was important that we sound good. John wrote a great piece, which he later arranged for orchestra.

We played that arrangement this summer at the Perlman Music Program.

q. What is the Perlman Music Program and what is its mission?

A. My wife, Toby, founded it 15 years ago. It's on Shelter Island in New York and is a six-week summer program for talented string players ages 12 to 18. The mission is to turn these students into good colleagues.

Toby asked me in the beginning if I could help out, and I now instruct all the fiddle players. The program discourages a sense of competition.

For instance, the program has an orchestra, but we always rotate the players so that everyone has a chance to play principal parts. The idea is that people should just enjoy making music.

q. Speaking of competition, your career was launched in 1964 when you won the Levintritt Competition. What's your view of music competitions — are they good, bad, a necessary evil?

A. That's a good question because I always tell my students if they're entering a competition because they want to win, then they shouldn't enter. The judges are subjective human beings, so no matter how good you are, there's no guarantee you'll win. On the other hand, if you want to enter a competition because it will force you to learn to play a lot of music on a very high level, well, then a competition can be a good thing.

q. You recently became music director of New York's Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra. What inspired you to conduct?

A. It started with the Perlman Music Program. My wife asked if I would coach the orchestra, but what she really meant was would I conduct it.

I didn't have a background in conducting, so in the beginning I conducted with a pencil. I figured as long as I used a pencil I was a teacher, not a conductor. But I got good results from the students, and over time people suggested I needed to work with a professional orchestra.

q. What are your hobbies?

A. Cooking. I'm not a great chef, but I love to cook. Mostly, that just means I eat too much.

Contact the writer:

444-1076, john.pitcher@owh.com

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