"A gem of a CD."
"It's engaging music,
full of heart, and keen
with a sense of place
and people."

--Brunswick Times Record
 

Lawrence Golan, violin
accompanied by Martin Perry, piano
 

        For decades, once a year each autumn, as the leaves were changing colors, the first page of the Chicago Sunday Tribune's graphic section featured a cartoon by John T. McCutcheon called Injun Summer in which an old man and his grandson are sitting underneath a large tree whose leaves have turned colors and are starting to fall. The grandfather tells the young boy that Indian Summer is when homesick Indians come back to play. He says that the distant colorful haze in the sky is actually the spirits of Indian warriors dancing around. When they get tired and rest in the trees, he says, their war paint sometimes rubs off on the leaves and that's why they change colors. In 1938, violinist, pedagogue, and composer George Perlman wrote a musical depiction of Injun Summer and in 1997, conductor and violinist Lawrence Golan recorded it along with the rest of Mr. Perlman's compositions.

        Although he doesn't like to discuss his age, George Perlman acknowledges that he was born several years ago..."before the flood--" May 15, 1897 to be exact. He was born in Kiev and at age four moved to Chicago where his principal violin teachers included Leon Samatini, Adolph Weidig, and Leopold Auer, with whom he studied for one year. The extensive program notes accompanying this CD were recorded during a luncheon meeting between George Perlman, Lawrence Golan, and Lawrence's father, Joseph Golan on June 19, 1996 in the historic Fine Arts Building, a Chicago landmark built in 1885 where Mr. Perlman has been teaching violin for the better part of the 20th century.

        In 1938 or 39, shortly after Mr. Perlman wrote his musical interpretation of Indian Summer, he brought his most famed prodigy, a seven-year-old virtuoso wunderkind to the home of John T. McCutcheon to perform the piece for the cartoon's originator. That little boy, one of the most talented students Mr. Perlman ever had, who would later go on to become the Principal Second Violinist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was Joseph Golan.

        Each of Mr. Perlman's compositions tell a story. Many of them are symbolic of his pride and interest in his Jewish faith and heritage. Indian Summer: The Music of George Perlman is a treasure for any CD collection.
 

CD: "Indian Summer: The Music of George Perlman"
Audio Sample (a Quicktime 3 movie) from Track 18, Indian Summer,
composed by George Perlman and performed by Lawrence Golan
and Martin Perry.
(©1997 Lawrence Golan)

Order the CD from:
Albany Records
915 Broadway
Albany, NY  12207
Tel 518-436-8814 or 1-800-752-1951
Fax: 518-436-0643 or 1-800-752-1954
e-mail: SBush7815@aol.com
(CD# TROY 239)