Entrevistas
Midori: I think I'm a very optimistic person and also a very practical person
Juan Carlos Tellechea
Visionary, United Nations peace ambassador, activist and educator, violinist Midori is a superb artist who passionately explores and expands the connection between music and the human experience.
Midori will be touring Spain in February with Jean Sibelius' Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor op 47, accompanied by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande conducted by Jonathan Nott. In addition, next May she will give several duo recitals with pianist Özgür Aydin, of which two had been announced at the time of writing, one in Pamplona and the other in Bilbao (see calendar below).
Midori. © 2022 by Nigel Parry.
The artist, who moved to the United States as a child and made a prodigious career for herself, has always enchanted audiences with her extraordinary playing, her legendary and perfect technique, as well as the brilliant and clean intonation of her 1734 Guarneri violin, which delivers simply very noble, beautiful and elegant tones.
Midori was kind enough to grant Mundoclasico.com an interview and these are her exclusive answers:
Juan Carlos Tellechea: What is your image of Spain today?
Midori: I have always enjoyed going to Spain. My first trip was when I was still in my teenage years and I went there for the first time on a tour with the London Symphony to Bilbao and Barcelona. I really loved the feeling and the atmosphere - I think it also has a lot to do with the people and the sunlight. I always enjoy my time in Spain so much.
Do you keep any memories of a very special moment lived in Spain in the last years?
I remember the wonderful new and old theaters, of course. On this tour, I’ll be playing in the famous Palau de la Música in Barcelona. And I get to play in Bilbao later in May a duo recital with the pianist Özgür Aydin where the hall is absolutely fantastic.
I also have a very distinct memory of playing at the Granada Festival which is just such a beautiful, memorable and magical experience in a very unique environment, atmosphere and special setting.
I am looking forward to be playing next year in Majorca, the Canaries, Madrid and Barcelona – whether it is while working with Spanish orchestras or giving recitals or touring Spain with visiting orchestras. There is so much that I can look forward to be doing in Spain.
What program have you chosen to play in your next tour in Spain and why have you chosen those compositions?
Midori. © 2022 by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.
The next project in Spain will be in February playing the Sibelius’ Concerto with the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande on tour, and I'm very much looking forward to it. The Sibelius’ Concerto is very beautiful and dramatic. And with this dramatic character, it evokes rather severe moods for both the players and the listeners.
With its rich tone, it has also exciting and energetic elements. This unique piece has the capacity to stir one’s imagination and create a special listening experience as it evokes different images, feelings, or experiences for the individual listeners.
I will be working with the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande (OSR) for the first time and after the sendoff concert in the orchestra’s hometown Geneva, we’ll go to Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. I am really looking forward to this tour and I am sure that working with the OSR will be very rewarding and interesting.
I have read in your program of recitals that you will offer in the United States during the spring of 2025 that you want to approach musical reflections inspired by the poem Casida del llanto by Federico García Lorca in Poulenc, Brahms and Ravel... What do the poems of Federico García Lorca inspire you personally? (Also tell us about your first encounter with a work by García Lorca).
There are many different themes that might strike my interest or my inspiration, and it's of course not just poems. Something from literature, an artwork, a specific person, social issues and themes, - many different things can inspire me to put together a program.
In my next set of recitals in the US and in Spain, I happened to saw immediately a connection between Garcia Lorca’s poems and Poulenc’s Violin Sonata. Actually, it's unknown whether these two men ever met, but they have many things in common: They use similar themes and approach some issues in a similar way. These two men on their own are an artistic inspiration, and to combine their work just naturally came to me. Like it was a series of accidents and that's basically how life is. It's a series of accidents that you then have to make meaning out.
I have known the poems by Garcia Lorca for a very long time, I can’t even remember since when. Then I fell upon the Casida del llanto while I was coincidentally thinking about how I might like to play the Poulenc Violin Sonata in my next set of recitals. And so the program just grew from there into a very soul-stirring one. I'm very much looking forward to working on it and then presenting it next (this) year.
Please also tell us about your activities in the framework of the International Community Engagement Project (ICEP) in Nepal with three young musicians who play stringed instruments...
I went to Nepal in December with the International Community Engagement project which is overseen by one of my nonprofit organizations called Music Sharing. I went there with three selected young musicians who auditioned and were chosen from an audition and interview process. So, we were a string quartet visiting different venues and social institutions in Nepal, like orphanages or special hospitals.
We partnered with local organizations that work with the marginalized population or on different social issues. First of all, we brought music to this community, but we also engaged ourselves in cultural exchange so that we were not just simply there to play for them, but we interacted, and we learned from each other.
We tried to learn about their culture, sometimes they also performed for us. We exchanged ideas with the local musicians and discussed how we can preserve our art form, how we can bring music to the young people and to other groups of people who may otherwise not have access to music. The trip was about 12 days plus a rehearsal period will follow in Europe this year.
Are you afraid of the current international war situation, aggravated by the presence of North Korean troops in the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, and by the escalation of violence in the Near East?
The current world situation extremely worrisome. There's a lot of violence going on, many innocent lives being taken and people who are left behind as victims of all the violence. There are terrible wars, heinous crimes being committed and injustice. A lot if it gets noticed internationally, like we read in the news about it. But there is also a lot of injustice left that is covered and that goes unnoticed from the public eye. There are many issues that we face in the world today, and I think to say that one is afraid of what's going on is probably an understatement.
What are your thoughts on what you can do most effectively as a UN peace ambassador to make the world a nicer place?
I don't think that the title of the position you hold matters so much. We all need to be working together to better the world.
Are you an optimistic person, do you always think positively, do you have a good sense of humor?
I think I'm a very optimistic person and also a very practical person. I have a good sense of humor. I don't dwell on things, but I have a deep respect for history and for which steps were taken in society to arrive where we are right now.
Midori's concert calendar in Spain
With the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande conducted by Jonathan Nott:
February 11, Madrid, Auditorio Nacional de Música de Madrid.
February 12, Zaragoza, Auditorio, Palacio de Congresos
February 13th, Barcelona, Palau de la Música
February 15, Tenerife, Canary Islands International Music Festival
February 16th, Gran Canaria, International Music Festival of the Canary Islands.
Duo recitals with the pianist Özgür Aydin, two of which have been announced so far:
May 13, Pamplona, Teatro Gayarre.
R. Schumann: 3 Romanzen, op 94
C. Schumann: 3 Romanzen, op 21
Brahms: Violinsonate No. 2 in A major, op 100
Poulenc: Violinsonate FP 119
R. Schumann: 5 Stücke im Volkston, op 102
Ravel: Tzigane, M.76
May 14, Bilbao, Bilbao Philharmonic Society
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