Beethoven: Violin Concerto & Romances Nos 1 & 2 Midori

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Violin Concerto, Op. 61 in D Major:
• 1 Violin Concerto, Op. 61 in D Major: I. Allegro ma non troppo 23:37
• 2 Violin Concerto, Op. 61 in D Major: II. Larghetto 08:43
• 3 Violin Concerto, Op. 61 in D Major: III. Rondo allegro 09:48
• Ludwig van Beethoven:
• 4 Romance No. 1 in G Major, Op. 40 06:05
• 5 Romance No. 2 in F Major, Op. 50 07:53
• Total Runtime 56:06

Info for Beethoven: Violin Concerto & Romances Nos 1 & 2

The violinist Midori has been a celebrated performer for more than 35 years, this recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, complemented by his two Romances for violin and orchestra, marks the composer’s 250th birthday in December 2020. Midori plays with the Lucerne Festival Strings in a recording made in Switzerland shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic had caused the cancellation of a planned concert performance and international tour. “Beethoven guided my colleagues and me,” says Midori, “his work focusing and inspiring us, our concentrations heightened, enveloped together in our musical efforts ... I am reminded that he was a man of strong beliefs … who took firm stands on many major issues of his day … Beethoven's determination still provides a model for humankind.”

Midori, violin
Festival Strings Lucerne
Daniel Dodds, conductor

Midori
The violinist Midori is a visionary artist, activist, and educator whose unique career has been dedicated to exploring and building connections between music and the human experience.

As a leading concert violinist for over 35 years, Midori regularly transfixes audiences around the world, combining graceful precision and intimate expression. Among many significant associations, she has performed with the London, Chicago, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, the Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. She has collaborated with such outstanding musicians as Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Emanuel Ax, Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Mariss Jansons, Paavo Järvi, Omer Meir Wellber, Yo-Yo Ma, and Susanna Mälkki.

Midori’s diverse discography, released by Sony Classical, Ondine, and Onyx, includes recordings of Bloch, Janáček, and Shostakovich sonatas, and a Grammy Award-winning recording of Hindemith’s Violin Concerto with Christoph Eschenbach conducting the NDR Symphony Orchestra. Her traversal of the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin was filmed for DVD at Köthen Castle and was released by Accentus.

Midori is deeply committed to furthering humanitarian and educational goals. She has founded and manages several non-profit organizations, including Midori & Friends, which provides music programs for New York City youth and communities, and MUSIC SHARING, a Japan-based foundation that brings both western classical and Japanese music traditions into young lives by presenting programs in schools, institutions, and hospitals. In recognition of such commitments, she serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Midori was born in Osaka in 1971 and began her violin studies with her mother, Setsu Goto, at an early age. In 1982, the conductor Zubin Mehta invited the then 11-year-old Midori to perform with the New York Philharmonic in the orchestra’s annual New Year’s Eve concert, helping to lay the foundation for her resulting career.

Midori plays the 1734 Guarnerius del Gesù “ex-Huberman”. She uses four bows – two by Dominique Peccatte, one by François Peccatte, and one by Paul Siefried.

Booklet for Beethoven: Violin Concerto & Romances Nos 1 & 2