Midori Gotō
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Midori Gotō (五嶋みどり Gotō Midori?) is a violinist born on October 25, 1971 in Osaka, Japan.
She is usually referred to simply as Midori. 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. Her brother, Ryu Gotō, is also a concert violinist.
Midori gave her first public performance at the age of seven, playing a piece from the 24 Caprices of Paganini. She and her mother moved to New York in 1982, and started violin studies under the renowned instructor Dorothy DeLay at Juilliard. As her audition piece, Midori performed the 13-plus minute long Chaconne by Bach in its entirety (generally considered to be one of the most difficult solo violin pieces ever written). In the same year, she made her concert debut New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, a conductor with whom she would record many concertos on the Sony Classical label. In 1986 would come her now legendary performance at Tanglewood. An astonishing success, she broke the E-string on her violin twice (she had to borrow violins from the concertmaster and associate concertmaster), and had Leonard Bernstein, the conductor, kneeling before her in awe. The next day the New York Times front page carried this headline: "Girl, 14, Conquers Tanglewood with 3 Violins."[1]
When Midori was 15 years old, she decided to leave Juilliard. 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. In 2001, Midori received the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, an award issued to outstanding musicians only once a year, if at all. With the award money, she started a foundation program called Partners in Performance. In the following years Midori has inaugurated two further community-based projects called the University Residencies Program and the Orchestra Residencies Program.
In 2000, Midori graduated from New York University`s Gallatin School magna cum laude where she studied Psychology; subsequently earning a Master's Degree in Psychology from NYU a few years later. Midori has been appointed to 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.
Midori plays on the 1734 Guarnerius del Gesu "ex-Huberman" violin. The violin is on loan to her (lifetime) from the Hayashibara Foundation. Her bows are made by Dominique Pecatte (two) and by François Pecatte (one).[2] When she is not on the road, Midori lives in Los Angeles. She enjoys reading, writing and attending the theatre.
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[edit] Discography
- Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op.1
- Bartók: Concerto No.1 for Violin and Orchestra, Op. Posth., Bartók: Concerto No.2 for Violin and Orchestra
- Midori "Live At Carnegie Hall"
- Dvořák: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 53, Dvořák: Romance in F minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 11, Dvořák: Carnival Overture, Op 92
- Encore!
- Sibelius: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, Op. 47, Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46
- Franck: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, Elgar: Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor, Op. 82
- Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Op. 35, Shostakovich: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No.1 in A minor
- Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, KV. 364/320d, Mozart: Concerto in D Major, KV. Anh. 56 (315f)
- Poulenc: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Debussy: Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Piano, Saint-Saëns: Sonata No.1 in D minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 75
- Midori's 20th Anniversary CD
- Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 64, Bruch: Concerto No.1 for Violin and Orchestra in G Minor, Op. 26
[edit] Cultural References
Midori is referenced in Guitar Hero 3 as one of the characters you can play as, although the bio and appearance on the game is not legit.
