Press Coverage
Winston-Salem Journal, 21 May 2007
Youth Appeal: Midori, symphony turn it on
By Ken Keuffel
The Winston-Salem Symphony has been pleasing lots of adults lately, but it also knows how to reach 'tweens and teens. I say this after attending "Young at Heart with Midori," which opened yesterday at the Stevens Center.
The concert, conducted by Robert Moody, had two elements of great appeal to young people. One inspired, the other educated.
The inspiration came courtesy of Bach's Concerto for Two Violins: In it, Midori, a virtuoso violinist with few peers, shared the solo spotlight with Ana Calles, 17, the concertmaster of the Winston-Salem Youth Symphony.
...For Calles, rubbing elbows with Midori in public must have seemed like a daunting prospect. But she rose to the occasion, particularly in the slow movement, in which each line sang out mellifluously. The two violinists captured the bubbly, highly rhythmic qualities of the finale in a way that made shoes tap (lightly) on the floors.
Great Falls Tribune, 2 April 2007
Column by Richard Ecke
Violinist Midori displayed a commanding presence on stage at the Civic Center late last week in a performance with the Great Falls Youth Orchestra. ...[She] was dramatic, elegant and graceful.
School kids who watched her in a special performance Thursday afternoon were "absolutely mesmerized," said Gordon Johnson, who conducts the Great Falls Symphony Orchestra.
"She is lovely in every way," Johnson said. "She's taught us so much about music and about ourselves."
Also impressive was the Youth Orchestra itself, featuring self-assured performers who sounded especially good playing Georges Bizet's "L'Arlesienne Suite."
Albuquerque Journal, 22 January 2006
Midori Concert With NMSO Forceful, Ethereal
By D.S. Crafts
Midori, as well as the NMSO [New Mexico Symphony Orchestra] under [Guillermo] Figueroa, makes a persuasive case for the [Britten Violin Concerto] with this carefully executed reading. There was bounding energy galore as well as a solo cadenza in the middle of the piece that Midori highlighted gloriously with visceral double stops and glowing pianissimos. Forceful yet ethereal, her playing coupled elegant lyricism with vigor and contrast, all delineated with razor-sharp articulation.
Midori's admirable commitment to young musicians is well-known, and Friday night at Popejoy Hall she generously shared the stage with members of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony to play the Double Violin Concerto by Bach...
...As an extra bonus Midori appeared once again to play the Finale movement of the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, one of the staples of the concerto literature. Amir Kats led the Albuquerque Youth Symphony with gusto, fully rising to the occasion of performing with this legendary soloist.
Burlington Free Press, 28 January 2006
Around the Master
VYO violinists make most of thrilling one-night lesson with Midori
by Brent Hallenbeck
[Kate] Noble said just after her session with Midori that it was just as exciting and just as nerve wracking as you might expect to have a 30-minute private lesson with a world-class musician in front of 150 people.
"Once you get up there you sort of forget and you just play," Noble said. "You just want to listen to her and enjoy it."
Duluth News Tribune, 9 May 2005
String Theory
by Sarah Henning
[Super String Day] paired young musicians with classical music superstar Midori and Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra musicians for an afternoon of rehearsals, workshops and a concert.
...The afternooon's main goal was to inspire.
...Workshops addressed everything from staying in tempo to page-turning techniques. "I'm definitely learning how to listen and pay attention to other musicians better," said Andy Halfrisch, a 17-year-old violinist from Duluth...
In the surging "Thais: Meditation," Midori played a keening solo. Kathryn Wilcox, a 15-year-old viola player from Bemidji [MN], said being on stage next to a player that accomplished was incredible.
"Midori is so cool, I was like, in awe," she said.
Anchorage Daily News, 17 October 2004
Midori highlights ASO concert
PIANISSIMOS: The soloist's control, tone were outstanding
by Kate Stine
The highlight of the concert was by far Midori's performance. A child prodigy in her youth, Midori is a long-time soloist and has vast experience with many different groups. While in Anchorage, she worked with the Anchorage Youth Symphony, and has made a determined effort in her career to encourage the musicianship of children...
Midori is a soloist who... manages to stand out by tone, by quality, by phrasing, instead of relying on sheer volume to do the trick for her.