Toronto Star, October 16, 2003

Midori charms all on her own
By WILLIAM LITTLER

It was back in 1982 that maestro Zubin Mehta brought a surprise guest onto the stage of Philharmonic Hall at Lincoln Centre for the New York Philharmonic's annual New Year's Eve concert, an 11-year-old Japanese violinist in pigtails and a short dress who even then looked years younger than she actually was.

That same little girl walked out onto the stage of Roy Thomson Hall last night to join the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Felix Mendelssohn's E minor Concerto, her hair now done up in a swept-back coiffure, her dress a full-length gown. Yes, Midori has grown into the fullness of maturity. So, it is a pleasure to report, has her artistry.

The sheer musicality is still there, giving her playing the naturalness of breathing. She virtually sang her way through the concerto, its phrases seamlessly joined, its technical challenges seemingly non-existent for her.