Scenes From an Interview: Toby Perlman

Making Beautiful Music

By Gus Mollasis

When Toby Perlman speaks of the extraordinary talents of her husband, renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, you will hear something that comes across loud and clear. In every word that she speaks about her Itzhak, there is admiration, awe, respect and of course, love.

Her notes on him are pure and clean, much like one of his performances. When she talks about the Perlman Music Program (PMP) Sarasota Winter Residency, which she founded with her husband, and which is celebrating its 15th year, you will hear many of the same passions. Formed in 2003, it is the companion program to The Perlman Music Program of New York, which was founded in 1994. The program offers “an artistic and personal experience that changes students’ lives forever.”

Together, Toby and Itzhak have brought their vision and sounds to the Suncoast in what they call their winter home-away-from-home. It is here that their program offers unparalleled musical training for students who play the violin, viola, cello, bass and piano.

As I interviewed Toby via phone from New York, she was quite eager to talk about the Perlman Music Program Sarasota’s 15th Anniversary, which runs December 22 to January 5. I heard a longing in her voice. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I don’t think so. It seemed to me she was just counting the days until she returned to Sarasota and the first musical notes could be struck. Whichever the case, I couldn’t wait for Toby to share some very musical scenes from her life.

When did the idea first begin to start the Perlman Music Program Sarasota Winter Residency in Sarasota?

A friend of ours, who served on our faculty and was a resident of Sarasota, was married to a doctor who was an amateur violinist. He was also one of these guys who was a dreamer. He said to us, “Wouldn’t it be great to have a winter residency and come to Sarasota?” And we said, “Sure, why not?” He told us that Sarasota is a very unusual community, big on the arts, and that people there would appreciate it. And that’s how it started. He revved up the enthusiasm in the community and he turned out to be right. Sarasota does like us, and everybody does come to the concerts.

So you and Mr. Perlman both “got it” at the same time?

Sure, but I don’t think we realized how good it could be. We are so happy with all the support that we have received over the years. They come to all the events, from the open rehearsals to the event at the Opera House. 

What is the most satisfying aspect of the program for you?

To see a student maximize their gift and really take advantage over a period of years. They may struggle a little bit at first, and then it seems as though their talent happens suddenly, but really it’s cumulative. And then, you see an artist, and not a little kid anymore. That’s what is really exciting. It’s never about who’s the best. They’re all terrific. They’re all the cream of the cream of the cream of the world in terms of talent in their age group. It’s more about who is able to make the most of the opportunity.

What do you hope the students in the program take away with them as they mature?

That’s a very good question and I think my answer may surprise you. PMP is as much about building community as it is about music. It’s about honesty, integrity, concern for your colleagues, and getting along in the group. I don’t talk too much about it, because I just love people. Everybody focuses on the musical aspect, and of course that is the center of everything. But it’s also this other thing that’s about community. About being a group and helping one another, rooting for one another, almost like a team. They really do that, and it works.

It must be a lot of hard work, but is it also fun to produce this side by side with your husband?

Oh yeah, it’s a lot of fun! It’s both. A lot of work, with a lot of detail. Some things are always going wrong and there are problems. But mostly it is a lot of fun. Part of the fun has to do with the fact that my husband and I are sharing it. We make a lot of decisions together, even though in this, I’m his boss, but still I listen to what he has to say. It’s wonderful to have something as important as this in our lives. Sometimes you have a situation in life where one member of the family is a brain surgeon and the other is not and doesn’t know anything about brain surgery. They have nothing to talk about. But we have music in common and PMP in common and it’s fun.

One of your hopes in the program is that this personal experience will change a student’s life forever. Please elaborate. 

We have, on occasion, actually changed a child’s life forever. The child will come from a small town in a faraway country, and suddenly his or her eyes and ears are opened in such a way that they wouldn’t have been in their home country or state. It can be, and has been, quite life-changing.

Does that give you great joy?

It really does. We never turn away a student because of financial needs. We find the money somehow and sometimes, we even have to find plane fare. Some of those kids would otherwise never move out of their normal sphere of living. This gives them a wonderful opportunity.

Finish the following sentences:

When children leave our program, it is our hope they will… 

Be more aware. Happier. More excited. Inspired. There it goes. We hope that through the program they will become inspired.

When I think of the Perlman Music Program, the emotion that best describes my feeling is one of . . . 

Happiness. Excitement. Exhaustion. Listen, my husband and I are so lucky to be involved with something we really love. How many people get to say that?

Music, good music, is important for humanity because it…

It raises us out of our normal state of consciousness and catapults us into a state of being. That’s the purpose of art. That’s what separates us from the chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are smarter than a lot of people we know. But you know a chimpanzee couldn’t write a Mozart symphony (laughs).

Many people do things for a year or two but doing anything for 15 years shows a certain level of commitment and staying power. Please explain the staying power and appeal of the Perlman Music Program Sarasota Winter Residency.

First of all, when you deal with children, it’s always interesting and it’s always challenging. And sometimes it’s heartbreaking, and other times it’s heartwarming. It’s everything. You’re never kind of finished with kids. The other thing is being around children is inspirational and it helps us grow and keep growing. The challenge keeps us young. It’s all good. Really, there is no downside.

Yours is a program that is very diverse, offering a Chamber Music Works-in-Progress Recital in which students perform together in small ensembles. How important is that to both the students and the program in showing there are many ways to share music?

It’s very important. We sing in chorus every day. Everybody loves it. It helps us to play chamber music, and the chamber music helps us to play solo. Orchestra helps everything. The more diverse, the better. We don’t currently give courses in theory, which would be great to do. We don’t do music history. There is plenty more that we could do, but we would need 24 hours in the day. At a certain point we have to say okay, we’re not going to do certain things.

Each year, the Winter Residency season culminates with a Celebration Concert held at the Sarasota Opera House featuring the PMP Orchestra and conducted by Itzhak Perlman, and the PMP Chorus led by Chorus Master Patrick Romano.  Describe what goes through your heart when this takes place on stage.

It’s wonderful because it’s a group effort. We don’t have soloists in that concert. Everybody plays. The orchestra rotates, so there is no such thing as the best ones sit in the front. That doesn’t exist for us. It’s a group effort. A community effort making music together, listening to one another. It’s the best thing! Everybody loves it.

Five, ten or fifteen years from now, where do you hope the program goes?

Well, I don’t want to grow in terms of how many children we take. The secret of this program is that it is so small. That’s the trick — keeping it small. Where I would love to be is financially independent because that would enable us to do all sorts of things and make it easier for us in terms of scholarships. It would be great if it were tuition-free. We wouldn’t have to worry so much. Hopefully, we would be financially stable, and an angel would come and drop hundreds of millions of dollars in our lap to run the program. Where I see us going musically, is again, we need to keep ourselves small. We need to keep inviting the finest faculty, making it possible for them to come from wherever they are to teach at our program. That attracts the best talent. The kids go where the excellence is. That’s an old story.

When you think of Itzhak Perlman musically, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

Magic. That’s the truth. This guy, I don’t know, I mean I don’t begin to understand how it works. I really don’t. It’s just some magical thing that happens. He picks up a fiddle and it’s not like anything else on this earth—before or now. It’s just what it is.

You mentioned angels earlier. Do you feel there is a spiritual component in his God-given talent?

If you asked him this question, he wouldn’t even know what you’re talking about. He really wouldn’t. Because for him playing is like breathing is for us. So some days he feels he plays better than others, just like a regular person, except the fact that we’re listening to him, the world is listening to him, and the world feels differently than he feels about his playing. You know the world can’t wait to hear the next concert, or the next note, or the next phrase. Personally speaking, do I feel that it’s a gift from God? Absolutely. Of course. But I’m not speaking for him, only for myself. For me, it’s a perfectly logical, reasonable explanation that God loaned him this gift while he’s on earth, and will take it back at some point.

Is there a piece of music that best describes your relationship?

No, and I’ll tell you why. We’re kind of obsessive listeners. And obsessive students of music. We listen all the time. We talk about the music all the time. I don’t know how we don’t get bored, but we don’t. We talk about our most favorite and least favorite. I think I could make a list of most favorite pieces or most favorite composers. But I couldn’t choose one piece. Maybe I could choose one opera – Don Giovanni. Don Giovanni is so unusual that maybe I could say that is my favorite opera. I don’t think my husband would say that. I’m not sure what he would say about that. In terms of the rest of the repertoire – string quartet. I mean, how can you choose a favorite Beethoven quartet? They’re all just too good. And the same is true about Bach. Could you conceive of a world without Bach? It’s not possible. There are some pieces I like better than others, but I don’t have a favorite, and I don’t think he does either.

Is there a specific piece of music that, when your husband is playing, it transports you to another place?

No, and I’ll tell you why. Every time I hear him play, it doesn’t matter what it is, I’m shocked. It’s like a surprise. It’s like, where is that coming from? Who is that guy, anyway?  I never get used to the sound. I never get used to it.

That’s so refreshing to hear.  You have that sense of wonderment when you listen to him play.

Wonderment. That’s the right word you’re using. I like that word, because that’s what it is. I listen to him warming up as he is going to play a scale or something and I hear that sound.  I say to myself, what’s that? You could say that I’m biased, because I’m married to him. All of that is true, but on the other hand, he’s pretty special.

Many years from now, after all the programs have been finished and all the notes have been played, how do you want to be remembered?

I want to be remembered as someone who really tried. I really make an effort. I really give it my best, which probably isn’t good enough. What you see is what you get. I do the best I can. That’s how I want to be thought of.

How do wish people will remember your husband?

I think that the music speaks for itself. I don’t think that sound or approach gets lost or is forgotten. I can’t imagine the world forgetting about him.

The 15th Perlman Music Program Sarasota Winter Residency Highlights
941.955.4942
perlmanmusicprogramsuncoast.org

Super Strings, a Winter Residency favorite, features 52 violin, viola, cello and bass players, ages 9-17, from 15 counties across Florida who auditioned for the opportunity to perform onstage, side-by-side with PMP students, under the baton of Itzhak Perlman. The Super Strings performance takes place on Saturday, December 29, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the Performance Tent. Tickets are $10.

Another favorite is the Chamber Music Works-in-Progress Recital where PMP students perform together in small ensembles. This year’s program will take place at Temple Beth Sholom on Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.

The Celebration Concert, held at the Sarasota Opera House each year, is the culmination of the Winter Residency, featuring the PMP Orchestra, conducted by Itzhak Perlman and the PMP Chorus, led by Chorus Master Patrick Romano. This year’s Celebration Concert takes place on Saturday, January 5, 2019. Tickets are $40, $60 and $80 and may be purchased through the Sarasota Opera House Box Office.

Gus Mollasis is a writer, author, filmmaker and film teacher. His monthly column, Scenes from an Interview, can be read in Sarasota Scene; Gus can be found teaching film around town at venues such as the Longboat Key Education Center. Gus also penned a biography on one of his heroes, Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Lem Barney. Read more Scenes from an Interview here.