PERLMAN, ITZHAK

born Aug. 31, 1945, Tel Aviv, Palestine [now Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel] Israeli-born violinist known for a brilliant virtuoso technique. His refinement of detail led many to regard him as one of the finest performers of the major violin repertoire of his time. At the age of four Perlman contracted polio, which left his legs paralyzed. His first public concert was in Tel Aviv, when he was 10. In 1958 he went to the Juilliard School in New York City to study with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1963 and won the Leventritt Prize a year later, which brought him immediate engagements with major American orchestras. He returned to Israel in 1965 for a successful tour and made his London debut in 1968 but continued to reside in New York City. Thereafter he gave international concert tours, taught and played in numerous major music festivals, and recorded most of the standard violin works. In 1986 he was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom.