The Itzhak Perman ‘Original Jacket Collection’ is a 10 CD set that was issued by Sony several years ago featuring a variety of Perlman’s recordings. Bach, Mozart, Prokofiev and Paganini are only a few of the composers represented here. This collection was a bit expensive at the time, and to be honest not one I was inclined to purchase at full price. Fortunately almost the entire set has been reissued in a bargain Sony import collection: ‘Itzhak Perlman Plays Concertos & Sonatas’. A cursory glance shows that a few works were not included to get everything onto 9 CDs, but at a substantially lower price. Of course you do not get the fancy artwork, etc as in the old set, but nonetheless a good value. As a bonus, iTunes has the ‘Original Jacket Collection’ version available for only $9.95. No booklet there, but a small price to pay for so much great music at such a good deal.

Most of the performances are very good. The opening disc is the 60th Anniversary celebration from Lincoln Center for Isaac Stern, with Perlman, Zukerman and Mehta with the NY Philharmonic [sans the Mozart on the ‘Concertos’ box set]. Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Brahms, Prokofiev and Lalo among others follow. All told, a nice collection and worth acquiring in the bargain box or as a download.

Amazon:
Itzhak Perlman: Concertos, Sonatas and more

Perlman Original Jacket Collection at Amazon:
Itzhak Perlman Original Jackets Collection