Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he has come to be recognized by audiences all over the world who respond not only to his flawless technique, but to the irrepressible joy of making music which he communicates. His latest release from Sony Classical – Classic Perlman: Rhapsody – brings together the best of the violinist's recent recordings for the label, including chamber and symphonic music as well as classic film themes.

Born in Israel in 1945, Itzhak Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled into the international arena with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career.

Since then, Itzhak Perlman has appeared with every major orchestra and in recitals and festivals throughout the world. In November of 1987 he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for history-making concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He again made history as he joined the Israel Philharmonic for its first visit to the Soviet Union in April/May of 1990 and was cheered by audiences in Moscow and Leningrad who thronged to hear his recital and orchestral performances. In December of 1994 he joined the Israel Philharmonic for their first visits to China and India.

In December 1990, Perlman visited Russia for the second time to participate in a gala performance in Leningrad celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's birth. This concert, which also featured Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman and Yuri Temirkanov conducting the Leningrad Philharmonic, was televised live in Europe and later broadcast throughout the world and is now available on home video (RCA/BMG Classics). In December 1993, Perlman visited the city of Prague in the Czech Republic to perform in a Dvorák gala concert with Yo-Yo Ma, Frederica von Stade, Rudolf Firkusny and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa. This concert was also televised live with a later worldwide broadcast and was released on CD and home video (Sony Classical) in 1994.

Itzhak Perlman has been honored with four Emmy Awards, most recently for the PBS documentary Fiddling for the Future, a film about the Perlman Summer Music Program and his work as a teacher and conductor in that program. His previous Emmy Award recognized his dedication to Klezmer music, as featured in the PBS television special In the Fiddler's House.

This Klezmer music program was filmed in Poland in 1995 and later released in home video and audio formats. Subsequent Klezmer tours have included concerts in Mexico, at the Hollywood Bowl and at major North American summer festivals.

Perlman's recordings regularly appear on the best-seller charts and have won fifteen Grammy Awards. For Sony Classical, he has recorded a wide repertoire, collaborating with such artists as Isaac Stern, guitarist John Williams, Daniel Barenboim and conductors Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa and the Juilliard String Quartet. Among his most recent recordings for Sony Classical are his two popular collections of film themes – Cinema Serenade and Cinema Serenade 2: the Golden Age, both with five-time Oscar winner John Williams conducting – and both the audio and video recordings of Dvorak in Prague.

During the past two years Perlman has also appeared on the conductor's podium and through this medium he is further delighting his audiences. He has appeared as conductor / soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto symphonies, at the Ravinia and OK Mozart festivals, with the St. Paul and New York chamber orchestras, and with the Israel Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra. In the 2000-2001 season his conducting debuts include engagements with Boston, National and San Francisco symphonies and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In January 2000 he was named Principal Guest Conductor for Detroit Symphony, a post he begins in September 2001.

Numerous publications and institutions have paid tribute to Itzhak Perlman for the unique place he occupies in the artistic and humanitarian fabric of our times. Newsweek magazine featured him with a cover story in April of 1980 and in 1981 Musical America pictured him as Musician of the Year on the cover of its Directory of Music and Musicians. Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew universities are among the institutions that have awarded him honorary degrees. President Reagan honored Perlman with a "Medal of Liberty" in 1986. In December 2000, President Clinton awarded Perlman the "National Medal of Arts".

On television, Perlman has entertained and enlightened millions of viewers of all ages on shows as diverse as The Late Show with David Letterman, Sesame Street, the PBS series The Frugal Gourmet, the Tonight show, the Grammy awards telecasts, several Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts and the PBS specials A Musical Toast and Mozart by the Masters, both of which he hosted. In 1992, the PBS documentary of his historic trip to the Soviet Union with the Israel Philharmonic, entitled Perlman in Russia (Angel/EMI video), was honored with an Emmy award as best music documentary. In July of 1994, Perlman was seen by millions of viewers when he hosted the U.S. broadcast of the Three Tenors, Encore! live from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

One of Perlman's proudest achievements was his collaboration with film score composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award winning film Schindler's List in which he performed the violin solos.

His presence on stage, on camera and in personal appearances of all kinds speaks eloquently on behalf of the disabled and his devotion to their cause is an integral part of his life.