The Hawaii Concert Society presents the violinist known worldwide by her first name, Midori, appearing in concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, at the University of Hawaii’s Performing Arts Center in Hilo.
The Hawaii Concert Society is one of two arts organizations in the state selected for a concert by Midori’s nonprofit organization, Partners in Performance, with her concert originally scheduled for the 2020-2021 season. Due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed for three seasons.
“We are thrilled that a Big Island audience will finally get to see and hear Midori in person,” said Tom Geballe, president of the concert society. “And despite her immense fame, we are keeping ticket prices low.”
Midori was born in Osaka in 1971 and began her violin studies with her mother, Setsu Goto, at an early age. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at age 11 as a surprise guest soloist at the New Year’s Eve Gala in 1982. At the age of 14, her performance at the Tanglewood Music Festival with Leonard Bernstein conducting made the front-page headlines in the New York Times. Since then, she has matured into one of the world’s preeminent violinists.
After 40 years of touring, Midori continues to enjoy performing.
“I think each concert has a place in my memory that I’ve played,” she said in a press release. “And as much as this may sound like a cliché, I love to perform, and I love every second that I’m able to be on stage. The excitement that I feel as I walk out onto the stage, that very first step that I take onto the stage, it just makes me so focused. It also makes me excited.
“That wonderful, special feeling is something that’s never changed in the last 40 years.”
Midori’s Hilo concert will include sonatas for violin and piano by Bach, Faure and Ravel and additional pieces by both Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann. Her accompanist will be Lithuanian pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute, who is renowned for her performances as both soloist and chamber musician.
Tickets for the concert ($25 general, $20 senior, $10 student) are available at the Most Irresistible Shop, Basically Books and the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center Box Office. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door from 6:45 p.m.
For additional information call (808) 959-4064 or visit www.hawaiiconcertsociety.com.