Midori

This is, indeed, a golden age of violinists. At a masterly 31, the Japanese-born Midori stands as the leader -- actually the groundbreaker -- of its younger generation. On Wednesday night, Midori began the second week of her current Los Angeles Philharmonic residency in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, playing the once-neglected, now-ubiquitous Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber.

"Focus on Eötvös," as the Los Angeles Philharmonic titled its concerts last week, wasn't exactly a festival. The focus was, in fact, tight. Only two works by the Hungarian composer were played at Walt Disney Concert Hall, although they were significant. The opera, "Angels in America," was presented at the Green Umbrella concert on Tuesday. The world premiere of a violin concerto commissioned by the orchestra for Midori was the centerpiece of the L.A. Phil's weekend subscription series.

For someone who is supposed to be a superstar, for someone who goes by a single name, Midori sure doesn't rely on personal charisma to get her point across. In fact, for three-fourths of her recital Monday night at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, she barely seemed to be relying on the violin . She most definitely is not into the tricks of its trade.

The music of Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös isn't "easy" in any conventional sense. A typical Eötvös piece sets the listener adrift through swaths of treacherous soundscapes and shimmering dissonance, usually without the aid of melody. Though often challenging, his music is also playful in an intellectual way - a childlike romp through a music-theory sand box. This is evident in the title of his new concerto "DoReMi," which was written for the violinist Midori and will have its world premiere Friday in a concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Midori, planted in front of two chalkboards in a packed high school classroom, sways rhythmically as she draws her bow across her burnished violin. With an upsweep, she finishes a Mozart piece and elicits loud applause. But she gets even louder and more spontaneous cheers when she says, "To be honest, I was not a very good high school student. I didn't fail anything" -- this draws groans -- "In college, I was pretty much straight A's."

Could there be a more appropriate Web address for the young philanthropist of the violin, Midori, than the one she has chosen, gotomidori.com? After more than 20 years onstage, she isn't just her generation's most giving, selfless musical figure, continually spawning successful outreach programs and teaching on both coasts (at the Manhattan School of Music and, more recently, at USC, where she holds the Jascha Heifetz chair).

No longer a prodigy, Midori can still startle. The 23-year-old violinist surprised the musical world in September by suddenly retreating from public performances. She canceled a week's worth of concerts with the New York Philharmonic, announcing she was taking four months off, due to what a Philharmonic spokesman called a "digestive disorder." It was the first time she had dropped so completely out of circulation since her surprise debut, at the age of 10, with the New York Philharmonic.

Brahms is never far from the heart of conductor Carl St.Clair and the Pacific Symphony. In February, they played the composer's genial Third Symphony, and on Thursday they chose the larger, more darkly beautiful First for the latter half of their season-opening gala concert celebrating St.Clair's 20th anniversary with the orchestra. They were in wonderful form all night at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, starting with Frank Ticheli's "Shooting Stars," a short piece -- Copland seen through a Stravinskian kaleidoscope -- long on orchestral color and rhythmic variety.

There was a disappointing omission in Shauna Snow's article, "Music Center Presents Chandler Awards" (Sept. 26). Although reporting details of other artists' contributions to the show, the story failed to give the titles of 17-year-old violinist Midori's contributions, saying only that there were "two short offerings by Midori." Having heard Midori last season with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, I agree with Zubin Mehta, who likened this winner of one of the Chandler Awards to "a young Jascha Heifetz" who would "play into the next century and set standards of violin playing that we don't know even exist today."

Celebrated violinist Midori Goto has joined the faculty of USC's Thornton School of Music in the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Music, the university announced Monday. As part of her teaching responsibilities, the 32-year-old Midori, who made her professional debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, will form two new student quartets in which she will play as an equal member. "I choose to perform with students because it lends a new perspective to learning, as well as to teaching," Midori says.

Since she made her solo debut at age 11 in 1982, violinist Midori has grown up - and grown middle-aged - under the full glare of the media. Reporters dubbed her a child prodigy when she first stunned audiences as a last-minute substitute with the New York Philharmonic. They chronicled her ascent to adolescent superstardom, a status cemented when at age 14, she went through three violins in a single Tanglewood concert. The media continued to follow her as she matured into a venerated soloist.

Aya Sumika, who played FBI agent Liz Warner on "Numb3rs," and Trevor John, an illustrator, moved into a just-built, two-bedroom condo in West Hollywood as newlyweds in 2007. "There was nothing interesting about it architecturally," Sumika said of the home. "We wanted a blank canvas. " Her goal was to transform it into a "chic urban space with French touches. " It's home to a pit bull rescue and two cats, and in 2010 the couple purchased Midori Ribbon, the luxury gift wrap firm  Sumika 's mother founded.

Brahms is never far from the heart of conductor Carl St.Clair and the Pacific Symphony. In February, they played the composer's genial Third Symphony, and on Thursday they chose the larger, more darkly beautiful First for the latter half of their season-opening gala concert celebrating St.Clair's 20th anniversary with the orchestra. They were in wonderful form all night at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, starting with Frank Ticheli's "Shooting Stars," a short piece -- Copland seen through a Stravinskian kaleidoscope -- long on orchestral color and rhythmic variety.

Could there be a more appropriate Web address for the young philanthropist of the violin, Midori, than the one she has chosen, gotomidori.com? After more than 20 years onstage, she isn't just her generation's most giving, selfless musical figure, continually spawning successful outreach programs and teaching on both coasts (at the Manhattan School of Music and, more recently, at USC, where she holds the Jascha Heifetz chair).

Celebrated violinist Midori Goto has joined the faculty of USC's Thornton School of Music in the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Music, the university announced Monday. As part of her teaching responsibilities, the 32-year-old Midori, who made her professional debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, will form two new student quartets in which she will play as an equal member. "I choose to perform with students because it lends a new perspective to learning, as well as to teaching," Midori says.

This is, indeed, a golden age of violinists. At a masterly 31, the Japanese-born Midori stands as the leader -- actually the groundbreaker -- of its younger generation. On Wednesday night, Midori began the second week of her current Los Angeles Philharmonic residency in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, playing the once-neglected, now-ubiquitous Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber.

A former wunderkind, 27-year-old violinist Midori is a bit of a puzzle. She encounters no technical obstacles. She spins out fine, golden tone. She plays some of the softest passages imaginable, but she can easily expand the sound to a vibrant, pulsing wave that reaches the back of a hall. But what the wave carries is the problem.

A former wunderkind, 27-year-old violinist Midori is a bit of a puzzle. She encounters no technical obstacles. She spins out fine, golden tone. She plays some of the softest passages imaginable, but she can easily expand the sound to a vibrant, pulsing wave that reaches the back of a hall. But what the wave carries is the problem.

Midori, planted in front of two chalkboards in a packed high school classroom, sways rhythmically as she draws her bow across her burnished violin. With an upsweep, she finishes a Mozart piece and elicits loud applause. But she gets even louder and more spontaneous cheers when she says, "To be honest, I was not a very good high school student. I didn't fail anything" -- this draws groans -- "In college, I was pretty much straight A's."