May 2008 Overview

This month, Midori performs the third concert of her Bach-Schnittke-Takemitsu Project at New York's Lincoln Center before embarking on a Contemporary recital tour with Charles Abramovic to Scotland, England and Germany. Additional recitals follow in Croatia, England and the Czech Republic. In the final week of May, Midori is in Tokyo and Hyogo for performances of the Tchaikovsky and Britten concertos with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach.

***

The weather has not been kind to me recently but I greet you in high spirits today from New York – my old hangout.

The heavy rains in Southern California have turned my apartment into a constantly-running sprinkler system: a huge leak pours water from the ceiling to the floor at all times. I’ve heard that this is the most rainfall the area has seen in 10 years; so much for the song, “It Never Rains in Southern California”! Mudslides and high winds make traveling very treacherous, and of course many flights in and out of LAX were adversely affected by the storms.

Extreme weather conditions seem to have followed me across the country, with snow and blustery winds hitting the East Coast at the beginning of this week. Taxicabs were slipping and sliding along the roads so the subway proved to be the most efficient means of transportation to get to and from rehearsals.

I am in New York this week for the first concert in a special series at Lincoln Center highlighting the music of J.S. Bach, Alfred Schnittke and Tōru Takemitsu. Working with other musicians on this inspiring music eclipses the dreariness of the outdoors. I continue to be invigorated by my students and a bustling schedule at USC, as well as by my recent interactions with young musicians in Des Moines, Iowa for the Orchestra Residencies Program and in Cambodia for Music Sharing’s International Community Engagement Program. Amidst the doldrums of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, we must look to our daily lives and within ourselves for energy and inspiration.

Midori

United Nations Secretary-General designates Midori as a Messenger of Peace
http://www.un.org/apps/news/ story.asp?NewsID=23907& Cr=messenger&Cr1=peace

November 3, 2007

Dear Friends,

I am currently sitting in the departure lounge of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport waiting to transfer from a flight from Atlanta, Georgia to another headed for Omaha, Nebraska. It is a beautiful autumn day.

The last months have been very interesting and rewarding for me, particularly my new position as Chair of the Strings Department at the University of Southern California/Thornton School of Music. This is a new challenge but one that actually brings together all my past experiences and skills, from community activities to my psychology studies at NYU to performing and teaching. I have a wonderful support system at USC and my students continue to be a source of great inspiration. I am having a wonderful time.

In the next few months, there are many more exciting and eye-opening experiences coming up--my first trip to Cambodia, with three young musicians, and the Bach-Schnittke-Takemitsu project, which starts in February. All projects have had a rather long lead time, which I love; It gives me the opportunity to dive into the material more deeply and from different perspectives.

Midori

13 August 2007

Dear Friends,

Time is flying by at an unbelievable speed. I must be having a good time.

In the last three months, I have enjoyed many encounters with young musicians in various contexts. In June, in Japan, I was reacquainted with the musicians who accompanied me to Vietnam last December. After that, at the USC (University of Southern California) Community Engagement Seminar, the participants and I focused on developing skills to bring music to children; finally, in August, at the Schleswig Holstein Festival masterclasses in Lübeck, ten of us came together to work hard and have fun.

My encounters with younger musicians are always invigorating and continue to motivate and inspire me. I am grateful for opportunities to share my experiences with them and, in the process, I also learn a great deal. In trying to discover how music affects each one of us, we find meaning in our music making, and therefore in our practice.

Midori

30 May 2007

Dear Friends,

I send you greetings from Japan, where I arrived a few days ago. The weather is gorgeous and not yet very hot.

May was a particularly engaging month for me. It started with a recital tour of Europe, following which I have been back home in Los Angeles intermittently and have worked with a youth orchestra in Winston-Salem. I am about to start a brief tour of Japan, which will be followed by special projects through the Music Sharing organization. I also look forward to re-connecting with the young musicians who travelled with me to Vietnam last December. We will have an opportunity to share how our thoughts and experiences have developed over the last half year since our time in Hanoi and Ho-Chi Minh. These weeks, as you can imagine, presented me with quite a variety of activities and memories--from the picturesque palace in Schwetzingen to the fast moving freeway of Southern California, from the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina to urban Tokyo and reminiscences of rural Vietnam.

I wish you all a Happy Summer!

Midori

Meet & Greet after the concert in Schwetzingen

18 February 2007

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Warsaw.

Although the temperature is definitely low, the sun has been quite friendly to us during the time we have been in Poland. My pianist, Bob, and I first came to this country some fifteen years ago. At that time, we would have been much happier if the sun had made its appearance for just five minutes. We got plenty of sun on this trip!

Over the next few months, I will be traveling quite a lot, mostly in the United States until May. Among the upcoming projects I look forward to is the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) in Great Falls, Montana.

In fact, we just had the application process for the 2008-09 ORP cycle and, from what I hear, the proposals are very strong. I am eager to see them on my return, although I am not on the selection committee for the program.

I hope the spring time is a time of rejuvenation for all of us!

Midori

October 2006

Dear Friends,

Time has been flying by much faster than usual. With so many changes in the last few months, mostly related to my trans-continental move, life has been hurtling along at jet speed.

There is much excitement on a daily basis and I am happy and thriving in my new dwellings in Santa Monica and at USC, in between my tours. The best part of the move has been that it enables me to be so much more involved in the campus life of USC and to have all my students in one place. As always, my students are caring and a constant source of inspiration for me.

My autumn, in addition to teaching, is full of adventures as well. For one thing, I have been working to learn the newly-commissioned work by the Finnish composer, Einojuhani Rautavaara, with the premiere scheduled for November in Munich. Then comes the recording of the Bach Solo Sonatas and the Community Engagement Program in Vietnam. In terms of performances on campus with my students, a minimum of six presentations are scheduled, and the students are hard at work organizing them.

I still think about the skyline of New York City from time to time and the life I had there with my family and dogs, who are now gone; but I am grateful for the new opportunities and experiences that California offers and I love living in LA so far.

Midori

Dear Friends,

Greetings from New York, where Central Park is enjoying its share of the beautiful foliage season. I am back in this bustling city for a quick stop before taking off to Munich, then on to Japan.

Last weekend in Los Angeles' Disney Hall was definitely one of the most exciting occasions of the season for me. I performed two quartets, each with three students from the University of Southern California (USC), where I am enjoying my second year on the string faculty. Throughout the fall, both groups have been hard at work, weathering my many harsh criticisms [amidst a few compliments] and surviving under my 'that sounds better; let's do it again. And yet again for security.' I am not a believer in the 'practice makes perfect' credo, but I do have to say that 'practice does make a difference!' And all their intensive work certainly came to a wonderful fruition as their performances shone last Sunday evening.

The resonance of their sounds, both the gentle rocking of the Schubert 'Quartettsatz' and the bucolic birdcall of the Dvořák 'American' Quartet, will keep reminding me of them - and of their dedication towards their art - for a long time to come.

Midori

Rehearsing Dvořák's 'American' Quartet with Midori: Yoo Kyung Oh, violin; Kaila Potts, viola; Tina Guo, cello.

Rehearsing Schubert's Quartettsatz with Midori: Yang Xu, violin; Luke Maurer, viola; Lars Hoefs, cello

Dear Friends,

Summer flew by with much traveling between Europe and Asia, always stopping in New York in between. I spent four weeks in Europe in July and August. This was unusual as I am not often able to go on such extended tours during the school year. At the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, over a period of two weeks, I had wonderful opportunities to work with young people both at their Orchestra Academy and through their Meisterkurse in Lübeck.

In Lübeck, I stayed in a typical three-story Lübeck town house with only one room on each floor. It was such a charming setting; coming home to it every night, I felt as though I were becoming a character in a historical novel! When I first arrived, New Yorker that I am, I was surprised that the windows had no bars! But, by the end of my stay in Lübeck, I had not only gotten used to this, I found that I actually liked it!

From Germany, I went to Croatia, Austria, Italy, and France. The weather was mixed - there was a good deal of rain -- but my violin and I survived it all. There was much to enjoy and many different languages to listen to. I was almost sorry to have to board the plane to go home.

However, home is home, and no matter what disarray I return to, of piled up mail and dust, it's always sweet. Once I am back home, I never want to leave again. But of course, I do. A few days after returning from Europe, I was in Worcester, Massachusetts, with my colleagues Steve Epstein and his crew to make a new recording for Sony/BMG. With the recording finished, I went to Los Angeles, to settle into my new apartment and get to know my new students at the University of Southern California. Summer is definitely over.

There is much to come in the fall, including more concerts in the US, Europe, and Japan. Despite all the activity of the summer, I feel totally refreshed and ready to start the new season.

For now, I send you greetings from São Paulo and wish you well.

Midori

Sala São Paulo (Brazil), a former train station

May 2005

Dear Friends,

I am spending one night at home in between the Orchestra Residency Program(ORP) in Duluth, Minnesota and my European recitals.

With the excitement of working intensely with young people in Duluth still fresh in my bones, I am diving into the Franck Sonata, a gorgeous work that Bob and I have not played together for some years. Throughout our rehearsals, we notice different details and we look at each other in surprise, "Have we ever done that?!"

Music offers us many refreshing opportunities to learn, and we are grateful, motivated, and excited.

Midori

March 2005

Dear Friends,

Winter in New York has been severe this year. With many snowstorms and windy days, I was grateful to have a roof over my head and be in the company of my Franzie the Dachshund. We spent many hours staring out of the window, listening to the sounds of the outside world.

The day after the Blizzard of 2005, Franzie and I went to look at the whiteness of the streets. The footsteps of the passers-by were softened, and sunlight was even brighter than usual, reflecting off the snow. After a few minutes, the cold started to penetrate our nostrils, and I decided that we should go back into our apartment.

Soon, all the problems caused by the winter storms will be long gone, remaining only in my memories as I work through my repertoire for the next few months. Coming up are works by Bartók, Stravinsky, Rautavaara, Ravel, Mozart, Brahms, Szymanowski... Then, there is the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) in Duluth, Minnesota. There is much to look forward to.

For those of you wondering who takes care of Good ol'Franzie while I am away from home performing these gorgeous pieces, I am happy to report that he is in the hands of my doting mother. He is enjoying his life to the maximum though he was diagnosed as terminally-ill a year ago, and despite missing Willa the Westie, who died last November.

Franzie's snore is unforgettable. I think of it frequently on the road. It is so calming and peaceful. I listen to it in my imagination, and I, too am calm. Then, the music starts to flow and take over. Out I go on the stage.

Franzie and I wish you much happy listening for the spring.

Midori

We enter the New Year amidst horrendous reports of the aftermath of the tsunami in Asia. Everyday, we hear stories of the sadness and loss of those who have been affected. While the sounds and images we encounter touch the direct victims most strongly, even those of us who were spared have been deeply stricken by this tragedy.

I am currently on tour in Japan and will be here through January 14th. My days are flying by as I perform two recital programs, one consisting entirely of works written after 1979, part of a larger project that included a day-long seminar and master class in Tokyo. Audiences are always eager to receive us and gladly take on the challenges we present, including seminars and lectures focusing on contemporary music. I was particularly impressed with the master class participants, whose assigned repertoire corresponded with the works in our contemporary recital. I made a short hop to Korea as well.

After the horrors of recent days, I hope the New Year will bring back a sense of peace and happiness.

Sincerely,

Midori

November 2004

Dear Friends,

With winter swiftly approaching and the 2004-2005 concert season underway, I find myself more energized and motivated than ever.

This fall marked the inauguration of the Orchestral Residencies Program in Anchorage and Fairbanks Alaska, where I worked with their Symphony and Youth Symphony orchestras. I had a most enjoyable time making and discussing music with youth orchestra members and their affiliated teachers and coaches. I even managed to find time to visit and pet Ingrid, the musk ox, at a nearby farm. Musk oxen are ancient arctic mammals and Ingrid weighed about 700 pounds so I made sure she didn't step on my toes!

Midori and Ingrid

Through another of my projects, the University Residencies Program, I spent very productive weeks at North Park University, Chicago and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. NPU is the first school to complete the full residency cycle, which is spread over two academic years; a highlight of my week there in November was my interaction with students from all backgrounds. Visiting different classrooms at the University of Wisconsin, Madison gave me the opportunity to engage in college life, which is something I definitely miss since finishing my course work at NYU.

On the performance front, I am happily occupied with preparing contemporary works, including a commission, the wreckage of flowers, by Michael Hersch. New music presents me with new challenges, sounds, and ideas, and I always find that stimulating.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season,

Midori

September 2004

Dear Friends,

A month ago, I thought the summer would never end, but now it's September, and the new concert season is upon us.

The next ten months promise to be as exciting and energizing as ever. With many projects and new undertakings such as the Orchestra Residencies Program [ORP], contemporary music recitals and commissions, and teaching at USC [University of Southern California], alongside ongoing programs such as the University Residencies Program [URP], Partners in Performance [PiP], and 'simply concerts,' not to mention working with my violin students at the Manhattan School of Music, I wonder if I will have time to brush my teeth! Oh yes, and preparations have already begun for the Total Experience projects in Japan in the early summer of 2005.. ...


However, I always make time for moments of reflection, and in those moments, I feel grateful for the sense of togetherness I experience in my life, a gift from others that I cherish dearly.

Sincerely,

Midori

I am in Japan where it is humid, stormy, and windy from the effects of an approaching hurricane. It was very sunny until yesterday, but now the skies look angry and eruptive.

My days are filled with children and music. There are concerts every day at schools--sometimes three in a single day! Even in the heat, the children listen and take in music sincerely; their curiosity fuels my interest and excitement in sharing the time of music with them.

I have been noticing how beautifully school children sing here in Japan. Some schools honor our presence by singing a song for us after our concert, and it is always amazing to watch and listen to a group of children singing in harmony to the baton of a fellow student, accompanied on the piano by another student or two.

One more week of school concerts coordinated by Music Sharing, and then I will be visiting Thailand. I am looking forward to working with young people there as well as to the master classes and special coaching that has been planned.

I am enjoying my summer, and I send you best wishes for a productive one, as well.

Sincerely,

Midori

April 2004

Dear Friends,

Spring is finally here. From my study, I can see clearly over to New Jersey across the Hudson River. Above the buildings is light blue sky into which the birds soar. The river seems calm and inviting, and I can sense the tranquillity before the heat-shock of the summer months.

In my daily life of concertizing, teaching, and studying, I dig deeply into the John Adams Violin Concerto of 1993, which I have recently added to my repertoire. Such a brand-new undertaking is as fresh as a clear spring day here in New York. I look forward, too, to my upcoming trip across the Atlantic to the UK where my pianist Bob McDonald and I will be giving recitals. Already, I can see the bright colors of daffodils in the streets of London!

My students continue to give me much pleasure and always give me something to ponder while I am away from them for a few days on tour. As for my thesis on pain, I am forever battling a typical writer's block but it is progressing, though slowly.

I hope you are also experiencing a nice spring--the season of re-birth and rejuvenation--wherever you are,

Midori

©2003 Lois Greenfield

January 2004

Dear Friends,

I send you greetings from deep within a harsh cold spell here in New York...word has it that it will continue to be rather severe. I'd just as soon not know...

Each morning as I wait for the kettle to boil, I try to picture the winter scene in different parts of the world—the peaks of the Swiss Alps painted winter-white, the wreaths that decorate almost every entryway in Japan, preparations for the Year of the Monkey in Chinatown, and - where it must be green - the sheep meadows outside Auckland.

I'm struck by the diversity of these places, their varied customs and habits, some of which I know and others that I can only imagine. And, reminded of the concert tours ahead of me in the next twelve months, I am excited and looking forward to them.

Warm wishes,

Midori

December 2003

Dear Friends,

Since my last greeting to you, both Partners in Performance (PiP) and the University Residencies Program (URP) have been launched. I am very excited about these new initiatives, and they have made a strong impact on me.

Through these projects, I sense that I am able, yet again, to experience the soulful exchange with many others. Through these exchanges I feel enriched and empowered.

One of my favorite children's books is Mole Music by David McPhail. It tells the story of a mole who lives alone, comfortably, but with the emptiness of something missing. He sends away for a violin, and teaches himself to play. From then on, he plays every day, purely for his own ears, his own enjoyment--simply to embrace the music--and that makes him a happy mole.

For Mole, as it is for me, the music is there for its own sake. It reaches out and is received in its purest form in projects such as PiP and URP.

Wishing you happiness for this season,

Midori

October 2003

Dear Friends,

The season is now well underway. To my amusement, I have to pack sweaters and light coats in my suitcase these days. How long gone are the summer nights!

The new season has much to offer, however. This fall alone sees the inaugural season of my Partners in Performance and the University Residencies Program. Planning and facilitation go on simultaneously for existing Midori & Friends in its 11th year and Music Sharing in its 2nd, as well as various future projects and ideas in the US, Europe, and Asia. And to add to all these, I am enjoying intensive practice sessions of learning and re-learning repertoire including the Violin Concerto by John Adams. Written in 1994, this work requires as much endurance from the soloist as patience in getting it under one's fingers.

For those of my friends wondering about my writing projects, namely the memoir for the German publication and my master's thesis on pain research, both are tackled on a daily basis, at home and on the road. Both give me a sense of calm as I dive deep into retrospection and thinking. My time for writing as well as that spent with my dedicated students at the Manhattan School is, for me, most precious. This is when I sense the inability for anything else to interfere. To have such opportunities for pure concentration, I am fortunate indeed.

With best wishes,

Midori

Dear Friends,

My 2002/03 season is just about over--one more concert tonight at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, and then I will be off to take refuge in the hills of Vermont.

Much of that time in nature will be spent putting final lines to a personal memoir I am preparing for German publication, delving deeper into research for my thesis on pain, as well as other reading, reflecting, and relaxing. A little violin practice is a possibility, as well!

In the coming season I am particularly looking forward to the inauguration of Partners in Performance and to the University Residencies Program. While this past season was tremendous in its own way, as it was my 20th Anniversary year, next year promises even more new, exciting, learning ventures.

As ever I am energized by the prospects of the unknown that are to come, and I am happy with the anticipation of sharing my discoveries with you in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

Midori

After a whirlwind stop at home in New York in between Europe and Japan, I am happy to be writing from the relative calm of the seaside city of Sasebo, near Nagasaki.

This part of the country is always intriguing for me. There is something different in the color of light here, not dissimilar from that of other southern places I know, like Florida or Spain, but still very unique. Nagasaki as a port was one of the entry points of Western culture many centuries ago. As such, there is still an old, Western colonial influence and the church architecture that attracts the attention of newcomers to the city.

Soon I will be back in Tokyo--only an hour away by plane. There, I am "only a speck in the sand dune " among the urban jungle of modern buildings. When I think about the individual character of various places I visit in Japan, I am amused by the idea I once had that the country was rather uniform.

I am looking forward to visiting with many children in schools and hospitals over the next couple of weeks here in Japan. Each visit brings forth its own set of remarkables, particular to the site and the environment of its vicinity. As always, my life is enriched, and for this, I am thankful.

Sincerely,

Midori

Dear Friends,

Spring is finally here. While the suffocating, hot days of summer are just around the corner -at least in the Northern hemisphere! - I hope there are flowers and blue skies wherever you are logging in from.

The musical season will soon end and, looking back at my activities in the months since last September, I realize that many miles and many notes have been crossed. I also feel blessed as a result of the experiences that came my way in the last year.

May is always a wonderfully interesting month for me. I think of all that went on in the previous nine months - with the passing of another full cycle of my work life. This particular '20th anniversary' season was also one in which new activities and projects, like the Residencies and Partners in Performance, got started.

I am now looking forward to the summer season, with its concertos and chamber music in Europe, Festivals in the US and 27 events in Japan, many of them associated with my Music Sharing project.

Wishing you all a pleasant May,

Midori

March 26, 2003

In the days leading up to the Carnegie Hall recital, I am constantly on the road, performing for audiences in various American cities and towns. Today, in Sarasota, Florida, I am standing by the stage door in a moment of reflection, gazing out to the Bay. I see the water and the light at one with each other and the pelicans sunbathing leisurely.

In contrast to this tranquil scene, there is a wide pendulum of emotions in the music for the current recital program, as there is in the world-at-large, and in my own life. When the calm is realized, it makes an extraordinary impact for its rarity, intensity, and potency, which is profound.

Sincerely,

Midori

11 February 2003

Friends,

15 January 2003

Dear Friends,

I greet you warmly in cyberspace.

There have been quite a number of exciting projects this season for me—surely the privilege of being in the midst of an anniversary year.

It is twenty years since my debut concert in which I performed with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, and ten years since the inception of Midori and Friends, which I founded in order to bring music education to children in New York City.

Moreover, this year marks the beginning of the Music Sharing organization in Japan, which will focus on taking performances of classical music and traditional Japanese music to children in schools, hospitals, and institutions.

Indeed, these days are filled with interesting and inspiring activities. And, as I believe that the present is informed by the past, and the future follows the present, I am simply grateful for the projects I have during this time.

Through these web pages, I hope that you can share in the excitement.

The Internet has become an indispensable part of our lives. I look forward to its effective use as the means of communication with you.

Sincerely,

Midori