Itzhak Perlman, one of the world’s most celebrated violinists, today releases The Way We Were: My American Songbook, his first new album in more than a decade, via Green Hill Music. The 12-song collection finds Perlman turning to music from the American songbook, bringing the warmth, humanity, and unmistakable voice of his violin to songs from Broadway, film, and popular music that have resonated with him throughout his life.
Produced by three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning producer David Lai and co-produced and arranged by Or Matias and Natalie Tenenbaum, The Way We Were: My American Songbook pairs Perlman with a full orchestra, creating the warm, romantic sound he envisioned for the collection. The album spans songs including “The Way We Were,” “People,” “Somewhere,” “September Song,” “Send In the Clowns,” and “What’ll I Do,” alongside collaborations with Josh Groban, Jon Batiste, and Ella Fitzgerald.
For Perlman, whose career has spanned more than seven decades of recording and performance, the album offered an opportunity to approach familiar music from a different perspective.
“Recording theatrical music is something I’ve never done before,” said Perlman. “This repertoire is very romantic, lyrical, and poetic. Most people have heard this repertoire sung before. So playing it on the violin is new, but the violin is a singing instrument, a perfect segue from song of the voice to song of the instrument.”
Among the album’s highlights is “Some Enchanted Evening,” featuring Josh Groban. Perlman had previously worked with Groban at Radio City Music Hall and welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with him again for the new recording. The performance came together across multiple recording sessions, with Perlman first recording his violin alongside a small group of musicians before the orchestral arrangement and Groban’s vocal were added.
“I worked with Josh before on his show at Radio City Music Hall,” Perlman said of Groban. “He’s a very versatile singer who is quite adept at singing Broadway. Our collaboration, which required us to record separately, meant we both listened to each other’s performance to create a seamless duet.”
The album also includes the previously released “Summertime,” featuring GRAMMY® Award winner Jon Batiste, and “Someone to Watch Over Me,” which brings Perlman together with the voice of Ella Fitzgerald. Released Aug. 31 on Perlman’s 81st birthday, “Summertime” reunited Perlman and Batiste after the two previously performed together on The Late Show at New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater.
“Someone to Watch Over Me,” released in September, grew from Perlman’s deep appreciation for Fitzgerald and an early recording of the Gershwin standard that he felt particularly suited to the collaboration.
“Ella Fitzgerald is an extraordinary singer and a great artist. I am such an admirer of hers,” said Perlman. “She was incapable of singing a phrase that was anything less than brilliant and perfect. For me, it’s like a gift to perform with an artist I admire so much. I become a fan again and again.”
Throughout the album, Perlman approaches the familiar melodies as songs even in the absence of a singer, allowing his violin to carry the melodic line while leaving room for listeners to bring their own memories and associations to the music.
“September Song” by Kurt Weill and Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” from West Side Story both deal with human relationships that are poetic and deeply touching,” said Perlman. “I felt the violin’s sound was a perfect vehicle to express these deep feelings.”
“Mr. Perlman has spent his career showing us just how expressive the violin can be, and this album brings that gift to songs that people already know and love,” said Blake Davis, General Manager of Green Hill Music. “There’s a warmth and familiarity to this music, but hearing these melodies through his playing gives them a new dimension. It is an extraordinary honor for Green Hill Music to work with Itzhak Perlman, an iconic artist whom I consider one of the true classical music geniuses of our time.”
A 16-time GRAMMY® Award winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Perlman has spent more than seven decades bringing classical music to audiences around the world. Across that career, he has performed with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors while also reaching beyond the traditional classical repertoire through film, television, and collaborations across musical genres.
The Way We Were: My American Songbook offers another side of that musical life, bringing his singular sound to melodies whose familiarity allows the violin to speak in a different way.
The Way We Were: My American Songbook is available now via Green Hill Music. Stream and purchase the album right here.
The Way We Were: My American Songbook Track Listing:
- All the Things You Are
- Not While I’m Around
- The Way We Were
- Summertime – feat. Jon Batiste
- People
- Some Enchanted Evening – feat. Josh Groban
- Sunrise, Sunset
- Somewhere
- Someone to Watch Over Me – feat. Ella Fitzgerald
- September Song
- Send In the Clowns
- What’ll I Do
