Comfort maestro

Itzhak Perlman, violin superstar and sometime conductor, has been named artistic director of the Westchester Philharmonic in Purchase, N.Y., PlaybillArts reports:

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/7349.html

Perlman signed up for three years, beginning in 2008-09. He will conduct three of the orchestra's five concerts per season.

Asked about his plans, Perlman sounded less like an artistic director, more like a visiting virtuoso on a lark: "I like to do my Brahmses, my Mozarts, my Tchaikovskys. It’s fun. Here’s a term for you: Call it ‘comfort music.’ "