The Australian, 3 July, 2006

By MARK COUGHLAN

Midori['s] performance with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra of the much-played Bruch Violin Concerto was fresh and captivating. With remarkable intensity, Midori shaped every line and crafted every nuance as if her life depended on it, not one phrase delivered mechanically or predictably. Her playing was entrancing.

Rarely does one hear an artist with such an unwavering musical focus coupled with such extraordinary control of tone and line.

The slow movement, in particular, was breathtakingly beautiful. Some daringly drawn-out passages held the audience spellbound; her sound pure and penetrating, her bowing immaculate.