Midori
Midori holds a place in the top rank of the world's violinists. A former child prodigy, she has been a prolific performer and recording artist specializing in mainstream violin repertory from Bach to Bartók.
Midori Goto was born in Osaka, Japan, on October 25, 1971. From the age of three, she studied violin, at first on a 1/16 size instrument, with her mother, Setsu Goto, a violinist who had noticed the toddler singing melodies by Bach she had heard days earlier at a rehearsal. Midori made her concert debut in Osaka at six. She came to the U.S. in 1981, studying with Dorothy DeLay at the Aspen Music School and later the Juilliard School; a less direct mentor was Pinchas Zukerman. Midori made her debut at the New York Philharmonic's New Year's Eve concert in 1982 when she was ten. She charmed the crowd: a group of collectors loaned her an original Stradivarius instrument that she continues to play, and conductor Zubin Mehta invited her to tour Asia with the orchestra. The same year, she signed with CBS Masterworks (now Sony Classical), and her international career was launched. She dropped her surname after her parents' divorce, briefly calling herself Mi Dori and then adopting the solid spelling. At 14, she landed on the front page of the New York Times after a performance with the Philharmonic in Central Park, and she benefited throughout her teen years from sympathetic press. She stunned both teachers and audiences with her mastery of some of the most difficult works in the violin repertory, including Paganini's 24 Caprices for solo violin, Op. 1, which she recorded in 1988.
Midori successfully left prodigy status behind and assumed a consistent position in the most prestigious group of international concert attractions. Often associated with Mehta at first, she has worked with other conductors and orchestras worldwide. A charismatic performer, Midori has for much of her career remained within the boundaries of the mainstream violin concerto repertoire from Bach to Bartók. She has gradually broadened her scope, however, first with recitals (her debut recital at Carnegie Hall in 1990 was recorded), and later with chamber music (her first tour as part of a trio came in 2008, with pianist Jonathan Biss and cellist Johannes Moser) and commissions for new works. In addition to her activities as a prominent performer, Midori has also founded and nurtured "Midori and Friends," a nonprofit organization providing educational experiences and concerts for underprivileged and hospitalized children. By 2020, the program had benefited more than 250,000 students. She has supplanted it with a community-oriented chamber music organization called "Partners in Performance," and a similar group in Japan called "Music Sharing." Her work to promote classical music at the community level has taken her as far afield as Indonesia. Midori's numerous awards include both musical and humanitarian honors. She was a winner of the Avery Fisher Prize in 2001, and in 2007, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon named her an official U.N. Messenger of Peace.
Midori has released more than 20 albums. In the late 2000s, she left Sony Classical, recording for Ondine, Onyx Classics (where she released a complete cycle of Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin in 2015), and other labels. In 2020, she moved to Warner Classics and recorded Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, for the first time. The holder of bachelor's (magna cum laude, 2000) and master's (2005) degrees in psychology from New York University, Midori has taught at the University of Southern California since 2005. In 2018, she joined the faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia as well.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
106 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Eötvös: DoReMi, Speaking Drums, Cello concerto grosso
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Midori, Martin Grubinger, Jean-Guihen Queyras
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 27 mei 2016
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Beethoven Sonatas for Piano and Violin
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 9 nov. 2022
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
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my everything, for you
Rock - Released by kaiko records on 26 mei 2022
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Toranome [Taiga Drama Kikou]
Originele soundtracks - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 5 mrt. 2017
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Tora's First Love [Taiga Drama Kikou]
Originele soundtracks - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 5 feb. 2017
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Torandra [Taiga Drama Kikou]
Originele soundtracks - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 12 feb. 2017
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
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Aratamemashite Hajimemashite Midori Desu
Rock - Released by Sony Music Direct (Japan) Inc. on 24 jul. 2013
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Shinsekai
Rock - Released by Sony Music Direct (Japan) Inc. on 7 nov. 2012
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Shimizu
Rock - Released by Sony Music Direct (Japan) Inc. on 24 jul. 2013
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Paganini: Violin Concerto 1 - Tchaikovsky: Sérénade mélancolique, Valse-Scherzo
Midori, London Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 1988
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
J.S. Bach & Vivaldi: Violin Concertos & Double Concertos
Midori, Pinchas Zukerman, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 1986
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Dvorák: Violin Concerto & Romance & Carnival Overture
Klassiek - Released by Sony Classical on 1 nov. 2019
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
A Promise of Healing
New age - Released by MG Music Ltd on 21 sep. 2008
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich: Violin Concertos
Klassiek - Released by Sony Classical on 28 sep. 1998
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Bach: Violin Sonata No.2, BWV 1003 - Bartók: Violin Sonata No.1
Klassiek - Released by Sony Classical on 1 jan. 2001
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Bonsai Garden
New age - Released by New World Music Ltd. on 6 jan. 2000
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Bali: Reflections of a Tranquil Paradise
New age - Released by New World Music Ltd. on 11 jan. 1999
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Paganini : 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1
Klassiek - Released by Sony Classical on 7 mrt. 2003
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo