PROVO — No one clapped when Itzhak Perlman came out on stage in his electric Amigo scooter, glided up the ramp and onto the concert podium. And 15 minutes into the first movement of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, the 74-year-old violinist abruptly stopped.
With animated gestures, he spoke to the BYU Philharmonic musicians, describing how he wanted them to articulate the passage. He started playing again, only to stop a few minutes later. This time he wanted to slow a particular phrase down.
This wasn’t Thursday night, in the middle of Perlman’s big concert debut at Brigham Young University. This was six hours before, when the legendary violinist rehearsed with the college musicians for the one and only time.
The students were dressed in their concert best, and they were focused, hanging on Perlman’s every word.
Along with BYU music majors and faculty, I observed the rehearsal from the back half of the concert hall. There was a sense of reverent awe as the Israeli American violinist went through the 45-minute piece with the orchestra and made it look so effortless.
I don’t think I moved a muscle as I watched him play. This was the greatest living violinist, and I was afraid the slightest sound would disrupt the rehearsal — even as far back as I was. And I know I wasn’t alone. It was so quiet that Perlman’s notes seemed to hang suspended in the air.
But the silence never lasted for too long.
Perlman has a hearty laugh — one that causes his shoulders and arms to shake violently. He was quick to crack jokes with the musicians, and his face lit up when he really got going. Throughout the piece, Perlman would relay his satisfaction to the orchestra, shouting out an occasional “yeah!”
He seemed right at home working with these budding professionals, and it was clear he cares about music education.
“When you teach others, you teach yourself,” he says in the documentary “Itzhak.”
In that documentary — which was a 2019 Grammy nominee for best musical film — Perlman passionately talks about teaching music, attributing teaching to getting him on the world-renowned level he is today.
In recent years, he’s dedicated more of his time to music education, making a concert performance from him even rarer. And it was obvious the BYU Philharmonic — as of now the only student orchestra Perlman is performing with this year — wasn’t taking this once-in-a-lifetime moment lightly.
It was only a rehearsal, but everyone on and off stage applauded after Perlman ran through the third movement a second time and began to pack up his violin.
He would do it all again five hours later with even more emotion and energy.
A BYU debut
Perlman doesn’t just play the violin; he prays through it.
That’s how a friend of Perlman’s describes the master violinist’s artistry in “Itzhak.”
And he’s exactly right.
Perlman didn’t say a word during his sold-out debut performance at BYU Thursday night (aside from mouthing “thank you” several times during a standing ovation that lasted for three minutes and 40 seconds).
But he shared his heart as he played the Beethoven Violin Concerto. In his playing, he evoked pleas, expressions of gratitude and, when all was said and done, a resolute “Amen.”
He slightly smiled as he played. Sometimes he furrowed his brows as he dug deeper into the strings. Occasionally he bobbed his head as the BYU Philharmonic played its parts with gusto, following his advice from just a few hours earlier.
“When the music speaks to me, I react,” Perlman says in “Itzhak.”
And the audience at BYU reacted right along with him. No one clapped in between movements, but a soft “wow” would slip out every now and then.
“One of the things that I love most about his playing — and I love everything about his playing — is his sound,” said Kory Katseanes, the director of the BYU Philharmonic. “You hear a recording, you can tell if it’s Perlman because of this rich, warm, kind of emotional human sound. … It’s magic.”
Listening to Perlman — and considering his long string of awards — it’s hard to believe the virtuoso ever struggled to be taken seriously. A bout with polio permanently damaged Perlman’s legs when he was 4, and throughout his childhood, even those closest to him questioned whether that would be a hindrance to his musical aspirations.
To this day, Perlman wonders if his appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” as a 13-year-old prodigy was initially more about his disability than his playing ability.
“Judge me by what I do, but don’t judge me by what I can’t do,” Perlman says in “Itzhak.”
The violinist is a strong advocate for people with disabilities. He’s performed with all of the major symphonies throughout the world. He’s helped bring classical music into the mainstream with appearances on “Sesame Street” and his work on the “Schindler’s List” soundtrack. In 2008 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and, a year later, he performed at President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Obama awarded Perlman the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, saying that the violinist approaches music “with passion and with joy ... and by doing so, he makes the world a little more beautiful.”
Perlman’s performance Thursday night was a big moment in BYU history — not to mention one of the school’s fastest-selling concerts. Everyone in attendance seemed to understand the magnitude of the performance, greeting Perlman with a standing ovation as he took the stage.
“There’s only a few artists like this in a lifetime that come along that are this great,” Katseanes previously told the Deseret News. “You can play really well and you’d never sound like Perlman. Frankly, it’s a gift from God.”
For decades now, Perlman has unequivocally been judged by what he can do. And his concert at BYU reaffirmed the verdict: He is the leading violinist of our time.