Midori Gotō

Midori Gotō
Midori receiving a standing ovation at San Antonio Symphony at The Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, September 2007
Background information
Born	(1971-10-25) October 25, 1971 (age 45)
Origin	Osaka, Japan
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Violinist
Instruments	Violin
Website	gotomidori.com

Midori Gotō (五嶋 みどり, Gotō Midori^?) (born October 25, 1971), usually referred to simply as Midori, is a Japanese-born American violinist. She made her debut at the age of 11, when conductor Zubin Mehta added her to the program of the New York Philharmonic's New Year's Eve Gala in 1982. When she was 21, she established her first not-for-profit organization Midori and Friends to bring music education and opportunities to children in New York City and Japan. In 2007, she was appointed as a UN Messenger of Peace.

Midori 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 the mother had rehearsed a few days earlier. On Midori's 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. In 1982 her mother and she moved to New York City, where Midori started violin studies with Dorothy DeLay's studios at Juilliard Pre-College and the Aspen Music Festival and School. 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 of Leonard Bernstein's Serenade at Tanglewood, during which she broke two E strings, first on her own instrument and then on concertmaster Malcolm Lowe's Stradivarius after she borrowed it. She finished the performance with associate concertmaster Max Hobart's Guadagnini, calmly thanking him afterward for allowing her to use it. Bernstein, who was also the conductor, knelt before her in awe. The next day The New York Times front page carried the headline "Girl, 14, Conquers Tanglewood with 3 Violins."