Search - Itzhak Perlman: Virtuoso Violinist on DVD

Highly entertaining - and really funny too!

Steven I. Ramm | Phila, PA USA | 07/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit that, unlike the previous person who reviewed this DVD (based on a previous VHS version and advance press comments), I was not familiar with the prior issue or even the director Christopher Nupen. But I certainly knew, and have seen and heard Perlman in concert.

The center focus on this DVD is the 1978 film titled "I Know I Played Every Note", which runs 58 minutes. In this film, Perlman basically narrates his own life and career, with a few probing questions by Nupen. (At one point he boldly asks the polio-inflicted Perlman: "How often do you fall down?")We see Perlman at home, in the kitchen, in New York City where he takes us on a brief tour of his home (after moving from Israel). We see, and hear from his wife Toby and watch him play concerts with his contemporaries Pincus Zuckerman and Jaqueline du Pre. He teaches a master class (which includes a funny bit with Nadia Salerno Sonnenberg) and tells stories. These are really funny stories and the film will have you smiling often.

So what fills up the rest of this DVD? Well, for one there 38 minutes of excerpts from 20 or so other films which Nupen has directed. But we also have more recent Perlman interviews where he comments on du Pre and the 1969 film titles "The Trout". Nupen includes excepts from two performances in London in the feature film and the DVD provides the full performances of the Bach E major and the Bach D minor partitas.

There's 16-page booklet with photos and text (in multiple languages) included.

With Nupen introducing each of the segments the whole package will take about 2 hours to watch. It's definitely two hours well spent. And spending any time with Perlman, either listening to his virtuoso performances, or hearing his funny stories is time well spent.

I'm off to seek out more of Nupen's films, based on this one!

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
"