A leading concert violinist for more than thirty years, Midori is a visionary artist, activist, and educator whose unique career has transcended traditional boundaries through her relentless drive to explore and build connections between music and the human experience. She brings the same dynamic innovation and expressive insight that has made her a prominent violinist to her other roles as a noted global cultural ambassador and dedicated music educator. She made her San Francisco Symphony debut in 1989.

Midori’s recent and upcoming engagements highlight her versatility with performances of orchestral and chamber works by Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, Schumann, Hindemith, Brahms, Mozart, Franck, Respighi, Schubert, and Enescu in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. She makes guest appearances with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Montreal Symphony. She tours Europe with the Munich Chamber Orchestra and Japan with the Estonian Festival Orchestra and Paavo Järvi. She undertakes a worldwide recital tour with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and performs trio concerts with pianist Jonathan Biss and cellist Antoine Lederlin.

In 2017, Midori celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of two of her non-profit organizations: Midori & Friends, which brings high-quality music education to New York City youth; and Music Sharing, a Japan-based program that serves local schools, institutions, and hospitals. Her other endeavors include Partners in Performance, which promotes interest in classical music outside of major urban centers across the US, and her Orchestras Residencies Program, which encourages lifelong performing arts engagement for young musicians in the US and beyond.  

In 2007, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon named Midori a Messenger of Peace, and in 2012 she received the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum in Davos. In 2018 she joined the violin faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music; previously she held the Jascha Heifetz Chair at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music for fourteen years. She continues her involvement at USC in a visiting artist role as Judge Widney Professor of Music alongside a visiting artist position at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.

Midori completed degrees in psychology and gender studies at the Gallatin School of New York University. She plays the 1734 Guarnerius del Gesù “ex-Huberman” violin and uses four bows: two by Dominique Peccatte, one by François Peccatte, and one by Paul Siefried.

(April 2019)

Jean-Yves Thibaudet has earned a reputation as one of the world’s finest pianists. He is especially known for his diverse interests beyond the classical world—in addition to his many forays into jazz and opera, he has collaborated with film, fashion, and visual art. He is a devoted educator and the first-ever artist in residence at the Colburn School, which awards several scholarships in his name.

This season, Thibaudet performs with the Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Seatle Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra Zurich, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Munich Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, National Symphony of Taiwan, and Macao Orchestra.

Thibaudet has appeared on more than 70 albums and six film scores; his extensive catalogue has received two Grammy nominations, two Echo Awards, the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Diapason d’Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Edison Prize, and Gramophone awards. Recent recordings include Gershwin Rhapsody with Michael Feinstein; Night After Night, a celebration of James Newton Howard’s scores for the films of M. Night Shyamalan; and Carte Blanche, a collection of deeply personal solo piano pieces.

He was soloist on Aaron Zigman’s score for Wakefield, Dario Marianelli’s scores for the films Atonement (which won an Oscar for Best Original Score) and Pride and Prejudice, as well as Alexandre Desplat’s soundtracks for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. He had a cameo in Bruce Beresford’s film on Alma Mahler, Bride of the Wind, and his playing is showcased throughout.

Thibaudet was born in Lyon, where he began his piano studies at age five, and entered the Paris Conservatory at 12. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 1994, and last year soloed in a multisensory performance of Scriabin’s Prometheus in collaboration with Esa-Pekka Salonen and Cartier. Among his awards are the Victoire d’Honneur, induction into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, and being named an Officier by the French Ministry of Culture.