In concerts around the world Midori transfixes audiences, bringing together graceful precision and intimate expression. Midori performs regularly with leading orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie, DSO Berlin, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Festival Strings Lucerne, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony and San Francisco Symphony. She has collaborated with such outstanding musicians as Claudio Abbado, Emanuel Ax, Leonard Bernstein, Jonathan Biss, Constantinos Carydis, Elim Chan, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniel Harding, Paavo Järvi, Andris Nelsons, Mariss Jansons, Yo-Yo Ma, Susanna Mälkki, Joana Mallwitz, Antonello Manacorda, Zubin Mehta, Donald Runnicles, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Omer Meir Wellber.
The 25/26 season includes performances of Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa with Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Estonian Festival Orchestra, both under Paavo Järvi, at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Zürich Tonhalle, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and New York Carnegie Hall. Midori will return to Carnegie later in the season for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s under Masaaki Suzuki. Other concerto highlights include performances with Boston Symphony under Nodoka Okisawa, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Alexander Shelley and Frankfurt Radio Symphony under Michael Sanderling when she will also receive the Pablo Casals Award at the Kronberg Festival in recognition of her commitment to social and educational projects. Midori will also embark on tours across North America, South America and Asia.
Midori’s diverse discography includes the 2020 recording with the Festival Strings Lucerne of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and two Romances on Warner Classics; recordings on Sony Classical, Ondine and Onyx include the music of Bloch, Janáček and Shostakovich and a Grammy Award-winning recording of Hindemith’s Violin Concerto with Christoph Eschenbach conducting the NDR Symphony Orchestra as well as Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin filmed at Köthen Castle for Accentus. Marking the 40th anniversary of her professional debut, Midori released a landmark recording of Beethoven sonatas performed with Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Warner Classics). In Spring 26, Midori will release a recording of works for violin by Schumann on Pentatone.
Deeply committed to furthering humanitarian and educational goals, she has founded several non-profit organizations. Midori & Friends, now with over 30 years of service, provides music programs for New York City youth and communities, and MUSIC SHARING, a Japan-based foundation, brings both western classical and Japanese music traditions to children and adults in Japan and throughout Asia by presenting programs in schools, institutions, and hospitals. For her Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP), Midori commissioned composer Derek Bermel to write a new piece, “Spring Cadenzas,” which was premiered (mostly virtually) by student orchestras in 2021 and continues to be performed by ORP participants.
In recognition of her work as an artist and humanitarian, she serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. She participated in a panel discussion, hosted by The Peace Studio, about what music can teach us about peaceful communication, alongside Joyce DiDonato and Wynton Marsalis; she delivered the Kim and Judy Davis Dean’s Lecture in the Humanities at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute (about non-profit leadership and volunteering); and she was awarded the Asian Cultural Council’s John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award for her contributions to the field of arts and cultural exchange. In 2022, Midori was also awarded the Brahms Prize by the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society. In recognition of her lifetime of contributions to American culture, Midori is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and was celebrated by Yo-Yo Ma, Bette Midler and John Lithgow, among others, during the May 2021 Honors ceremonies in Washington, DC. In September 2025 Midori will be recognised for achievements at the Cremona Music Awards.
Midori was born in Osaka in 1971 and began her violin studies with her mother, Setsu Goto, at an early age. In 1982, 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, where the foundation was laid for her following career. Midori is the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Violin Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and a member of the string faculty at the Juilliard School. Midori is also the Artistic Director of Ravinia Steans Music Institute’s Piano & Strings program, overseeing the programme since summer 2024.
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.
2025/26 season. Not to be altered without permission.