Itzhak Perlman
“This concert has been sold out — with a lengthy waiting list — for more than six months, and even a last-minute date change for the performance did not deter classical fans.”
The first time I tried to get tickets to an Itzhak Perlman recital it was 6 months beforehand. Sold out. This time I pointedly made a big deal out of it 12 months ahead of time and Valentine’s Day arrived with main floor tickets. And then I had to wait eleven months, but the night finally came near — and was postponed for a week. But it arrived again. On the program, 3 sonatas: J.S. Bach #6, Beethoven #7, Poulenc. Perlman’s left hand is still solid; nothing out of tune. I found fault with his slow bowing in the Largo movement of the Bach. It seemed shaky at either end, or lazy perhaps. It was probably the easiest movement out of the twelve on the main program and I feel he could’ve taken better care of it. But that was a tiny portion of the evening. Everything else was well executed with his usual flair for making it look easy when you know it just isn’t. He does so much with his fingers that if you tied his upper arms to his sides he could probably still play better than many violinists. I had not heard the Poulenc Sonata before; it’s not a happy work, lyrical but tragic. Perlman and accompanist Rohan de Silva capped off the recital with six showpieces, three of them Fritz Kreisler arrangements. The final blast was Franz Ries’ “Perpetual Motion” which left the crowd suitably impressed. Now I can set my sights on seeing Yo-Yo Ma.