The Trustees of the Westport Library are pleased to present the twenty-second
for the evening™ Honoring Itzhak Perlman
REMARKS
Iain Bruce President, Board of Trustees
Bill Harmer Executive Director, Westport Library
TRIBUTES AND PERFORMANCES HONORING ITZHAK PERLMAN
American String Quartet Peter Winograd, violin Daniel Avshalomov, viola Laurie Carney, violin Wolfram Koessel, cello
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) String Quartet in F Major (1903) IV. Finale: Vif et agité
Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81 (1887) I. Allegro, ma non tanto Rohan De Silva, pianist
A TALK WITH ITZHAK PERLMAN With Andrew C. Wilk, Executive Producer
WESTPORT LIBRARY AWARD Presented by Bill Harmer, Executive Director for the evening ™ A Benefit for the Westport Library
HONORING ITZHAK PERLMAN
Itzhak Perlman rose to fame on the Rohan De Silva Born in Sri Lanka, Rohan Ed Sullivan show, where he performed as a De Silva studied at the Royal Academy child prodigy at just 13 years old. Perlman of Music and at The Juilliard School. He has performed with every major orchestra has collaborated with many of the world’s and at venerable concert halls around the top violinists in recitals, including Pinchas globe. Perlman was granted a Presidential Zukerman, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham Medal of Freedom by President Obama and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. in 2015, the nation’s highest civilian A highly sought after collaborative pianist honor, a Kennedy Center Honor in 2003, and chamber musician, De Silva has a National Medal of Arts by President collaborated for over twenty years with Itzhak Perlman as his Clinton in 2000 and a Medal of Liberty by President Reagan in 1986. recital pianist, performing at the world’s most important venues. Mr. De Silva has performed numerous times at the White House A major presence in the performing arts on television, Perlman for Presidents Obama and Bush, including at a state dinner for has received four Emmy Awards, including one for the PBS Her Majesty, the Queen of England. documentary Fiddling for the Future, a film about The Perlman Music Program. Founded in 1993, The Perlman Music Program Mr. De Silva has been on the Chamber Music Faculty at The offers unparalleled musical training to young string players Juilliard School since 1991. He has also taught at The Perlman through intensive summer programs and mentoring. Music Program and at The Heifetz Institute.
Perlman has entertained and enlightened millions of television Mr. De Silva has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Universal, viewers on popular shows including The Late Show with David CBS/SONY Classical, Collins Classics in London, RCA Victor Letterman, Sesame Street, The Frugal Gourmet, The Tonight and Chandos. He has been sought out by a younger generation Show and multiple Grammy Awards telecasts. of players, including flutist Lisa Friend, with whom he released an album of works by Fauré and Debussy in 2019. Mr. De Silva also Having garnered 16 Grammy Awards over the years with his best- has extensive radio and television credits. selling recordings, Perlman was honored in 2008 with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in the recording arts. is the Westport Library’s annual Born in Israel in 1945, Perlman completed his initial training BOOKED for the evening fundraising event. On this occasion, the Library honors an at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. Following his studies at individual whose work reflects the purpose of the Library — The Juilliard School, Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt to nurture the love of learning and to enhance our understanding Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career. of the world. Previous award winners are Tom Brokaw, E.L. Doctorow, Calvin Trillin, Wendy Wasserstein, Pete Hamill, Numerous publications and institutions have paid tribute to Martin Scorsese, Arthur Mitchell, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Itzhak Perlman for the unique place he occupies in the artistic David Halberstam, Oscar Hijuelos, Adam Gopnik, Will Shortz, and humanitarian fabric of our times. He was awarded an Patti Smith, Barry Levinson, Jon Meacham, Nile Rodgers, honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the occasion of Lynsey Addario, Ron Chernow, Alan Alda, Justin Paul and Juilliard’s 100th commencement ceremony in May 2005. Frederic Chiu.
The Westport Library 20 Jesup Road • Westport, CT 06880 • 203.291.4824 • westportlibrary.org for the evening ™ A Benefit for the Westport Library
HONORING ITZHAK PERLMAN
American String Quartet Library Trustee, Andrew C. Wilk Recognized as one of the world’s finest is the Executive Producer of tonight’s quartets, the American String Quartet has BOOKED for the evening. spent forty-seven years honing the luxurious sound for which it is internationally famous. Mr. Wilk is a five-time Emmy Award Formed when its original members were winning television, film, music and students at The Juilliard School, the Quartet media producer and director. He also has performed in all fifty states and the is a critically acclaimed playwright and world’s most important concert halls. The symphony conductor. While Executive Live From Lincoln Center group’s presentations of the complete quartets of Beethoven, Producer of , Wilk created over 50 Schubert, Schoenberg, Bartók, and Mozart have won widespread PBS specials. His first PBS episode featured tonight’s honoree, critical acclaim and their MusicMasters Complete Mozart String Itzhak Perlman. Wilk produced shows with the New York Quartets, performed on a matched quartet set of instruments Philharmonic, Lincoln Center Theater, Chamber Music Society by Stradivarius, are widely considered to have set the standard of Lincoln Center and others. In the course of his work, Wilk for this repertoire. produced and directed shows that included luminaries such as Renée Fleming, Joshua Bell, Nathan Lane and Yo-Yo Ma.
The Quartet’s diverse activities as champions of new music Prior to his role at Lincoln Center, Mr. Wilk was the Chief and its tremendously imaginative collaborations with creative Creative Officer of Sony Music Entertainment, in charge of artists in other fields cement its reputation as one of the visual content for all 22 Sony label groups. most adventurous and fearless string quartets performing today, as comfortable with the groundbreaking as with Mr. Wilk was a founder of the National Geographic Channel, the traditional. The Quartet also performed for numerous where he spent over a decade, including as the Executive international radio and television broadcasts, including a recent Vice President of Programming and Production. Currently, he recording for the BBC; toured Asia, Mexico, South America is in pre-production for a new national PBS series from the and Israel, and performed with the New York City Ballet, the Westport Country Playhouse. Montreal Symphony and the Philadelphia Symphony. The Quartet’s extensive discography can be heard on the Albany, CRI, MusicMasters, Musical Heritage Society, BOARD OF TRUSTEES Nonesuch and RCA labels. Most recently, the group released “Schubert’s Echo,” which pairs Schubert’s monumental last Scott Bennewitz Jenna Markowitz quartet with works bearing its influence by Alban Berg and Andrea Berkley Stefano Pacifico Anton Webern. Resident quartet at the Aspen Music Festival Iain Bruce Krishna Patel since 1974 and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York Jonathan Cunitz Meena Pellerin since 1984, the Quartet has also served as resident quartet at the Emily DiMiceli Jeremy Price Taos School of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and the Van Rob Haroun Barrie Rosen Cliburn International Piano Competition. The Quartet: Peter Randy Herbertson Faye Schoenherr Sivan Hong Sheila Ward Winograd, violin; Daniel Avshalomov, viola; Laurie Carney, Fred Klein Pat Wieser violin; Wolfram Koessel, cello. Celeste LaCroix Andrew Wilk
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