words yvonne teh

Midori Goto has come a long way since her days as a child prodigy

Midori Goto has come a long way since her days as a child prodigy
On June 27 and 28, the HK Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a concert programme that includes three pieces by Igor Stravinsky, the Russian composer famed for his innovative but also often very demanding orchestral scores. And the single work in the Midori plays Brahms concert that is not by Stravinsky hardly has a reputation for being easy to play either. Indeed, in the eyes of Hans von Bulow, one of the 19th century’s most famous conductors, German Romantic composer Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major, Op 77, is “a concerto against the violin” while Polish violinist-composer Henryk Wieniawski damningly described it as “unplayable”!

When asked in an interview with bc about the formidable but nonetheless important piece in the classical music repertoire that she will be playing on consecutive evenings in Asia’s World City, Midori Goto – the renowned musician regularly referred to by her first name alone – agreed that “the Brahms Violin Concerto makes many demands on its performer, technically and physically”. But even while she realizes that, “One must have great stamina to play through the work”, she expectedly is unfazed by the prospect of performing the work and, indeed, feels that “doing so is wonderfully rewarding (much like a long running session)”.
Midori will be 37 years old on her next birthday (on October 25 this year). Nonetheless, articles about the star violinist still invariably mention her youthful achievements. After all, as she – who early in her career was often mistakenly referred to in articles as Mi Dori – herself recognizes, “It is incredible for a child to show capabilities beyond their years, and people have big reactions of amazement.”

Such capabilities don’t just include Midori at two years old humming the melody of a Bach theme her mother, Setsuo Goto, had played on her violin, or Midori playing this same instrument herself when just three. Or even as a seven-year-old, being able to give her first public performance of a Paganini Caprice for an audience in her hometown of Osaka.

Rather, it’s that when she states, “I appreciate all the moments and experiences from childhood and beyond that have formed the whole of my career as it stands today,” some of those moments and experiences include Midori playing with conductor Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic at its 1982 New Year’s Eve concert when still aged only 11, and a Tanglewood debut four years later with a famously impressive performance that caused maestro Leonard Bernstein to literally fall to his knees at the end of it.

And even before her prodigious talents were unveiled in New York and Tanglewood, Midori’s music-making had already caused at least one grown man to weep. A noted violinist (as well as violist and conductor) in his own right, Pinchas Zukerman talked of how, in Aspen in 1981, he was treated to a performance by “this tiny little thing, not even 10 at the time. I was sitting on a chair and I was as tall as she was standing. She tuned, she bowed to the audience, she bowed to me, she bowed to the pianist – and then she played the Bartók Second Concerto, and I went bananas.” More specifically, “I sat there and tears started coming down my cheeks…”

Dramatic, oft-recounted accounts like that serve to confirm Midori’s own observation, “Society loves the image of a precious little prodigy.” And this even more so since, as the virtuoso violinist notes, “It also happens in some cases that prodigies decide to not to pursue the field for which they became well known.” Or, as per the recent retirement of Justine Henin, at age just 25 and when officially ranked World No. 1 in women’s tennis at the time of her dramatic announcement, prematurely burn out in the manner of shooting stars, thereby allowing their transient talents to be witnessed and enjoyed over an all too fleeting period of time.

Although she surprised some people by taking time out between 1995 and 2005 to study for Bachelor and Master’s degrees in psychology, there doesn’t seem to be any need to fear Midori will be permanently abandoning the world of music any time soon. “Music has never ceased to bring me joy, and I can’t imagine that ever changing,” she says. When asked about her choice of the violin, the now mature musician says the instrument has been an everyday presence in her life from the very beginning. “Hearing my mother play [the violin] was comforting and appealing, and the sounds she drew from the instrument seemed magical. There was some effort on my mother’s part to entice me to play the piano [but] I could not be persuaded away from the violin.

Midori explains that. “I thrive on having variety in my life; although I don’t deny that my schedule” – teaching and volunteer work (notably under the aegis of two non-profit music education organizations she has established, New York’s Midori & Friends, and Japan’s Music Sharing) along with performing, rehearsing and travelling – “might seem chaotic, it never feels like a struggle to keep up. I also don’t place any of my activities in self-contained pockets. All I do is on a continuum.” Moreover, she believes, “Pursuing diverse interests and activities ensures that I am never bored with my life. This, of course, means that my music-making remains interesting and energizing for me.”

Since the mid-1990s, Midori has taught the violin as well as performing. “The experiences of bringing music to students, and to smaller communities outside the perimeters of the usual concert circuit, give my life and work such joy, and I am constantly stimulated and motivated by the discoveries therein,” she says. She also has come to the conclusion that, “Music is something for everyone to experience and possibly enjoy.” But that doesn’t mean she believes in ‘music for music’s sake’. Rather, she says, “Music has the power to soothe, to inspire, to entertain, and to enrich our lives as a whole.”

The HK Philharmonic Orchestra, with David Atherton conducting, presents Midori plays Brahms at the HK City Hall’s Concert Hall on June 27 and 28. The concerts commence at 8pm. Tickets are $580 to $160 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.