“It is quite impossible to imagine today's violin heritage without the absolute musical genius of Perlman.” – Daniel Barenboim

Itzhak Perlman, born in 1945, is the supreme violinist of his time. Warner Classics salutes him in his 80th birthday year with this updated edition of his Complete Warner Classics Recordings. Presenting his art in all its warmth, generosity and brilliance, this comprehensive edition unites the recordings Perlman made for EMI Classics, Erato, Teldec and Warner Classics over a total period of 45 years.

The edition embraces every aspect of Perlman’s art. It contains concertos (the “essential” concertos, of course, but also more rarely-heard works, including Perlman’s own commissions from living composers); other pieces for violin and orchestra; chamber music; recital and crossover repertoire (including jazz, ragtime and klezmer), and even a disc that focuses on Perlman as narrator and (briefly) opera singer. The recordings document his collaborations with the world’s greatest orchestras and an array of superlative fellow-soloists and conductors, including Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Plácido Domingo, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, Lynn Harrell, Yo-Yo Ma, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn and Pinchas Zukerman.

The recordings from the analogue era have been carefully remastered in 24-bit/96kHz sound at Abbey Road Studios for the 2015 Edition.

As before, the albums are presented in their original coupling with their original cover artwork.

Updates from the previous box:
- The 2016 Sonata album with Martha Argerich (Bach, Brahms and Schumann)
- New liner notes by musical expert Tully Potter
- Album order slightly updated (some separate albums were coupled in the previous edition, such as the Kreisler or the Klezmer) as CDs are now all in individual wallets

Over the past 60 years Itzhak Perlman has become established as one of the great violinists of history – a player on a level with such legendary figures as Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz and David Oistrakh, and an influential musician admired around the world by a broad and varied public and by students of his instrument.

Itzhak Perlman was born in Israel in 1945, first played the violin at the age of three and began his formal training in Tel Aviv. When he was 13 he was invited to New York to appear on CBS television’s Ed Sullivan Show, which was a life-changing experience. He moved to the USA, studying at the Juilliard School in New York with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, making his Carnegie Hall debut in 1963, and winning the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964; this victory launched his international performing career.

Beyond the confines of the concert hall, he has performed at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009, made a guest appearance on the iconic children’s programme Sesame Street and played the theme music for the multi-award-winning Steven Spielberg film Schindler’s List. His recordings have received a total of 15 Grammy Awards and in 2008 he was honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

“His talent is utterly limitless ... No-one comes anywhere near him in what he can physically do with the violin,” was the assessment of his fellow-violinist Isaac Stern. Perlman’s Juilliard School teacher Dorothy DeLay said that: “What set Itzhak apart from the beginning was his sheer talent and enormous imagination. Itzhak was on a kind of creative high that has never let up.”

When he plays, Perlman communicates a joy that goes beyond the sheer lustrous beauty of his tone or his ability to overcome any technical challenge that the composer might set. He is a player of great warmth and generosity – a violinist with a big heart to go with his big sound and his big personality. Where other players can seem to be working too hard at their interpretation, Perlman seems to have a natural command of every aspect of the music, though in discussion he emphasises his need to discover something new in a piece each time he plays it. His special appeal as a performer was eloquently summed up by Edward Rothstein of the New York Times in a review of a recital at Avery Fisher Hall in 1982: “Mr. Perlman can do just about anything he wants on the violin ... He might be called a sort of democratic virtuoso. His appeal is that he is one of us, a person who appears on stage and plays his music. And when he plays, one marvels at his execution, relishes his sound and experiences a sympathy for his musical expressions that involves empathy, respect and pleasure.”

Many violinists who have followed him aspire to the rich, full-bodied and glowing “Perlman Sound” and to his consummate technical command. He is committed to passing on his love of music and his performing wisdom: a professor at the Juilliard School, he also teaches each summer on the East Coast of America and in Israel at the Perlman Music Program, which was founded by his wife, Toby. His worldwide sphere of influence as a teacher and mentor has been expanded by his lively presence in online social media. The Perlman Sound continues to resonate around the world.

“Itzhak’s sweet sound and warm attitude allowed him for decades to send out to the world an important message, underlining in music how beautiful life is, must and can be.” – Gidon Kremer

“There’s an emotional dimension to every appearance he makes on stage which is simply unique. Although his approach to music has evolved over the years, he’s always maintained his natural ‘virtuosity’ – and I use the term in its best possible sense.” – Daniel Barenboim

“It is quite impossible to imagine today’s violin heritage without the absolute musical genius of Perlman. He has made it his mission to remind us of the great generation of the violinists of the past and to define the absolute standards of music today.” – Maxim Vengerov

“His distinctive sound, his infectious passion for his instrument, the infinite facility with which he plays the most virtuosic repertoire. You simply have to love him.” – Frank Peter Zimmermann