| Midori Gotō | |
|---|---|
Midori receiving a standing ovation at San Antonio Symphony at The Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, September 2007. |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | October 25, 1971 |
| Origin | Osaka, Japan |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupations | Violinist |
| Instruments | Violin |
| Website | gotomidori.com |
Midori Gotō (五嶋 みどり Gotō Midori) (born October 25, 1971) is a Japanese American violinist. She made her debut at the age of 11 in a last-minute change of programming during a concert highlighting young performers by the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. When she was 21, she formed the philanthropic group Midori and Friends to help bring music to children in New York City. She is internationally renowned as a performer.[1] In 2007, she was selected as a UN Messenger of Peace.[2][3]
Contents |
She is usually referred to simply as Midori. She was born in Osaka, Japan. She was first taught the violin by her mother, Setsu Gotō. Her mother discovered her daughter's innate musicality at the age of two, when she found Midori humming a Bach theme she had rehearsed a few days earlier. She started taking piano lessons first but quit within three months. On her third birthday, her grandmother gave her a 1/16 size violin, whereupon her mother decided to teach her the violin.
Midori gave her first public performance at the age of six, playing one of the 24 Caprices of Paganini in her native Osaka, Japan. In 1982 she and her mother moved to New York City, where Midori started violin studies with Dorothy DeLay at Juilliard Pre-College. As her audition piece, Midori performed Bach's 13-minute Chaconne, generally considered one of the most difficult solo violin pieces ever written. In the same year, she made her concert debut with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, a conductor with whom she would record many concertos on the Sony Classical label. In 1986 came her now legendary performance at Tanglewood, during which she broke two E strings, first her own and then the concertmaster's after she borrowed his instrument. She finished playing the associate concertmaster's violin. Leonard Bernstein, the conductor, knelt before her in awe. The next day the New York Times front page carried this headline: "Girl, 14, Conquers Tanglewood with 3 Violins."[4]
When Midori was 15, she decided to leave Juilliard Pre-College after approximately four years there. About five years later in 1992, she formed Midori & Friends, a non-profit organization that aims to bring quality music education to inner-city children in New York City.[2][3] In 2001, Midori received the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize and started a foundation program called Partners in Performance with the prize money. In subsequent years, Midori inaugurated two further community-based projects, the University Residencies Program and the Orchestra Residencies Program.
Midori is the recipient of the 25th Suntory Music Award (1993).
In 2000, Midori graduated from the Gallatin School at New York University with a degree in psychology, and earned a master's degree in psychology from NYU a few years later. She has been appointed the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Music at USC's Thornton School of Music, where she currently chairs the Strings Department. Previously, she was on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music. Midori is also a board member of the American String Teachers Association. When she is not on the road, Midori lives in Los Angeles, California. She enjoys reading, writing, and attending the theatre. Her brother Ryu is also a violinist.
Midori plays on the 1734 Guarnerius del Gesù "ex-Huberman" violin which is on lifetime loan to her from the Hayashibara Foundation. Her bows are made by Dominique Pecatte (two) and by François Pecatte (one).