Itzhak Perl-stud

My greatest highlight of January was Perlman’s recital with Rohan de Silva at the Luckman Center. Needless to say, his playing was flawless. By flawless I don’t mean flawless technically, but his everything was so flawless that I could probably burn calories by just attempting to describe his performance. There are a lot of musicians out there that give great shows that are basically perfect with the exception of a single slipped or accidental whistle noise, and even more out there where they play, say, a single measure where, as an audience member, you wish that they could emphasize a dynamic or note more but this guy is made of wax. He’s probably the ultimate role model for all modern violinists. His vibrato looked fast even, but gosh it was so beautiful. Man, his Beethoven sonata was the epicenter of win. His wrist motions were beautiful. His facial expressions were of the perfect caliber of expression. My teacher says that Perlman is the most beautiful sound on Earth, and I have to agree.

Of course, Perlman’s fame would draw audiences from all over to get big crowds, but I have figured out the secret to his success (besides musical GENIUS): an open personality. He has a warm, booming voice that feels familiar, as if he was talking to an acquaintaince rather than a mass of strangers. Itzhak has an interesting, funny personality, and I knew that not only from the quirky little jokes he makes for every encore piece but one of his students is a friend of mine, and she says that he's extremely kind and friendly. Speaking of encores, he makes it really easy on the audience- he knows that the audience won't be satisfied without a couple of encore pieces, so the second time he wheels out during a standing ovation, he starts consulting a list and thus begins a concert within a concert. This guy is a stud. He creates freaking paradoxes.

And...Has anyone seen the size of his hand? They're MONSTROUS. I've heard from my mum that Perlman has abnormally large hands, but I didn't notice them until the scroll of the violin disappeared into his palm when he was tuning his violin. No wonder he plays with such ease and with such a broad vibrato! He has physical advantages!

Studstudstud!