Violin Soloist Midori Will Perform In Concert With Festival Strings Lucerne At Mechanics Hall

Music Worcester presents Midori, one of the most acclaimed violinists of her generation, in concert on Friday, November 3rd at Mechanics Hall in Worcester with the Festival Strings Lucerneorchestra. Tickets and information can be found at musicworcester.org. 

 

For this program that brings Midori back to Worcester for the first time in twenty years, she will be the soloist on Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto in D Minor and Beethoven's Romance in F Major, Op. 50.  Festival Strings Lucerne will perform Pastorale d'été by Arthur Honegger; the U.S. premiere of Richard Dubognon's Caprice IV, “Es muss sein!”, Op. 72, No. 4;  and Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in Bb Major, Op. 60.

Midori, a visionary artist, activist and educator, explores and builds connections between music and the human experience, often breaking traditional boundaries and yielding a career as one of the most celebrated violinists of her time. She marked the 40th anniversary of her professional debut last season, celebrating a remarkable trajectory that began in 1982, when she debuted with the New York Philharmonic at age 11. 

 

Midori has performed with, among others, the London, Chicago, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras; the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics; the Mahler Chamber Orchestra; Boston Symphony Orchestra; National Symphony Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.  

 

In recognition of her work as an artist and humanitarian, she serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Last season, 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. 

 

The Festival Strings Lucerne, founded in 1956 and currently led by the violinist Daniel Dodds, was established as a string orchestra with harpsichord by the Viennese violin legend Wolfgang Schneiderhan and the Swiss conductor and violinist Rudolf Baumgartner. From the start, the ensemble has been committed to developing the noble glow and warmth of the Austro-Hungarian string sound tradition. Dodds, who was appointed artistic director in 2012, leads the orchestra from the concertmaster's chair, continuing the example set by Baumgartner. Daniel Dodds has particularly extended the scope of the ensemble, adding instruments as required, to facilitate performances of midsize symphonic repertoire. 

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