From Schubert to Strauss, Bach to Brahms, Mozart to…Billy Joel, Itzhak Perlman’s violin playing transcends mere performance to evoke the celebrations and struggles of real life. Director Alison Chernick’s (The Jeff Koons Show, Matthew Barney: No Restraint) new documentary provides an intimate, cinéma vérité look at the remarkable life and career of this musician, widely considered the world’s greatest violinist. Features new interviews with the world-renowned violinist, his family, friends and colleagues including Billy Joel, Alan Alda, pianist Martha Argerich and cellist Mischa Maisky.
Acting
Perlman's natural charisma—no acting required, just living legend energy.
Direction
Chernick's patient vérité lets moments breathe without forced drama.
Production
Access to Perlman's private world, including painful childhood polio memories.
Director
Alison Chernick
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Perlman uses crutches or a scooter due to childhood polio—he initially refused to be filmed using them, but Chernick convinced him it was essential to his story.
The film captures Perlman during the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, cementing his status as America's classical music royalty despite his Israeli birth.
US
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