Perlman practiced intensely every day before facing one of is toughest challenges.
When Perlman was four-years-old, he was stricken with polio, which would forever leave him disabled. He continued to practice for the full year it took for him to recover and was soon able to walk using the aid of leg braces and crutches. Upon being released from the hospital, Perlman enrolled at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music where he studied under the famed Madame Rivka Goldart on a scholarship from the American-Israeli Cultural Foundation. By the time he was seven-years-old, he was making regular appearances with the Ramat-Gan Orchestra in Tel Aviv and the Broadcasting Orchestra in Jerusalem, Israel. In 1955, at the age of ten, he gave his first solo recital and was widely considered a music prodigy in Israel.
Moves To America
In 1958, at the age of 13, Perlman was brought to New York City, by the Columbia Broadcasting Corporation's (CBS) Ed Sullivan Show for two performances during the show's "Cavalcade of Stars." His rendition of Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee and Wieniawski's Polonaise Brillante made Perlman a star in America and he soon decided to stay for good.
This is a free page. This page contains 186 words. This
biography contains 1,554 words (approx. 5 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Biography with our Itzhak Perlman Access Pass.
