When he turned 80 on Aug. 31, the violinist Itzhak Perlman played the national anthem for the New York Mets, his favorite team, before the Miami Marlins beat them.
“What is that expression — glutton for punishment?” said Perlman, who watches baseball more than he practices. “We are happy when they win. We are absolutely devastated when they lose.”
So he was in an especially good mood during a video call from the Upper West Side in late September, a day after the Mets had won. Adding to his birthday celebrations: his debut at the Beacon Theater, a neighborhood venue at which he’d never performed, followed by a nationwide tour and two new box-set releases of his recordings.
“I’m very old, so usually they like to choose between 1800 and 1900, when I was first starting to record,” he joked.
Sitting before a wall of musical scores — cue baseball pun — Perlman, who contracted polio at 4, spoke about the mobility scooter and ADA van ramp that help him get around; his Stradivarius, whose sound is now his own; and his most requested work, the theme from “Schindler’s List.” These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
My Skillet
Cooking is important in my life. I’ve recently discovered a wonderful skillet from the Stanley Tucci collection. It’s very nonstick. I make scrambled eggs and then, whoosh, just nothing.
My 1714 ‘Soil’ Stradivarius
People always ask me, “How is it to play on a Stradivarius? How does it sound compared to another violin?” And my answer is that no matter what violin I play, it’ll sound like me. I’m not trying to give myself a compliment. I’m just trying to tell you that it’s a personal thing. The thing about the Strad is that it helps the player to produce the sound they want. That violin belonged to the great, great Yehudi Menuhin, and it sounded like Menuhin. And now that I’m playing it, it sounds like me.
My Dog, Dreidel
Dreidel is a Portuguese water dog and he is a nut case. He’s a very, shall we say, nervous dog, especially when there’s a lot of noise. On Nov. 20, he will be 2 — or 14 in dog years — so it’s right after his bar mitzvah.
Vitamix Immersion Blender
One of my favorite things to cook is what I call “garbage pail soup.” I like to put leftover cauliflower, onions, potatoes, leeks in a big pot and boil them in either vegetable or chicken broth. And when it’s ready, you use the immersion blender in the pot, and you’ve got it.
Amigo Mobility Scooter
I go on the stage with it. People used to be very hesitant to clap too much when I was walking with crutches because they said, “Oh, it’s going to be difficult for him to walk again and again.” So I would always get three or four less bows from the audience. But now I just zoom out on the stage, take a bow, zoom off the stage, and then zoom out again.
Van With an ADA Ramp
Boom — you just push a button, the ramp comes out, I go into the van, the ramp comes in, I transfer to the driver’s seat and away we go.
The Theme From ‘Schindler’s List’
I received a call from John Williams saying that he was writing the music for this movie “Schindler’s List,” and I foolishly said that I’d think about if I wanted to do it. And Toby, my wife, said, “Are you out of your mind? You’re going to think about it?” So I called back. Any place that I play in — whether in Europe, the Far East, the United States — everybody says, “You’ve got to do this.”
Zabar’s
Great smoked salmon. The problem with Zabar’s is there’s too many choices, but the people usually give you a taste. It all depends on the fish. On a scale from one to 10, you have to choose. Get it?
Garlic and Onion
This is the base for every kind of food that you want to make. It’s a no-brainer.
My Wife
I’ve been so lucky to have someone who really thinks about music the way I do, who is on the same page and whom I can always trust to tell me the truth about my music making. That kind of feedback is so important, and very rare. After all these years, I still feel so fortunate to have a partner who’s been both a supporter and a true critic throughout my career.
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