August 31, 2025 is Itzhak Perlman’s 80th birthday, and as a tribute to him, I decided to add a NEW variation.
Back in 1973, I was studying the Sibelius Concerto with my teacher Dorothy DeLay, who thought it would be wonderful for me to play it for Itzhak and get his thoughts on my rendition. This concerto was one of Perlman’s great interpretations, and was among his first commercially released concerto recordings.
The coaching session was fantastic and memorable, and I actually believe that it helped me to win a national competition later that year!
I decided to base the new variation on motifs from the 3rd movement of the Sibelius Concerto, which has such meaning to me, and surely to Itzhak as it was one of his debut recordings.
Included with your downloaded purchase:
Sheet Music (.pdf)
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Perlman 80th Birthday Variation Violin Duet: Score
- Perlman 80th Birthday Variation Violin Duet: Violino Primo
- Perlman 80th Birthday Variation Violin Duet: Primo Violino
Audio (.mp3) - You can play along with Bruce Dukov!
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Perlman 80th Birthday Variation Violin Duet MP3
- Clicked intro for each variation MP3
Audio Preview
Kevin Zhu honors his mentor Itzhak Perlman with a special new “Happy Birthday” Variation by Bruce Dukov
