From my review of Itzhak Perlman in today’s Orange County Register online:
“Itzhak Perlman, who played his first violin recital in Orange County in a long while on Sunday afternoon, is a smooth entertainer. The description is not meant to slight. Classical music has but four or five names these days that can sell-out a hall on the basis of their names alone, Perlman among them. We could use a few more Perlmans.”
Click here to read the whole thing, or pick up a copy of tomorrow’s newspaper.
photo: Fritz Kreisler, Library of Congress
classical life 
Well….my first thought was that I don’t have any Perlman on record, but on second thought, I think I have him playing the Kreutzer….but I’m pretty sure I bought it for the pianist on the set. 🙂
Yes, Lisa, I wouldn’t think he’d be the best violinist for the Kreutzer, but I haven’t heard his recording of it. But I bet it’s not bad.
To my ears, the Kreutzer is the only one of Beethoven’s piano-violin sonatas where the two instruments are of roughly equal importance. In the other nine, piano clearly plays the leading role. In 1980s, Perlman recorded all ten with Ashkenazy, when both musicians were in their peak prime form. None of those recordings is “bad”, but every time i hear one of them, i end up listening to and enjoying the pianist more than the violinist. It may partly be the composer’s “fault”, but i also think that even at his best, Perlman was never as fine an interpreter of “serious” repertoire as Ashkenazy was at that same time.
The Perlman Kreutzer I have is with Argerich (hence “I bought it for the pianist”): http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Violin-Sonata-Kreutzer-Franck/dp/B00002CF0S
Don’t remember this particular recording, but i am sure it is very good and i fully understand getting it “for the pianist”. However, if that is the pianist in whose interpretations of Beethoven piano-violin sonatas you are interested, i would highly recommend her recordings of them with Gidon Kremer made in 1990s, because i think that GK has always been a more interesting musician than IP.