Ravinia is proud to announce the appointment of esteemed violinist Midori as the Artistic Director of Ravinia Steans Music Institute’s Piano & Strings program, effective this fall to begin overseeing the 2024 summer season. Midori will succeed the acclaimed violinist Miriam Fried, who has held that position since 1994, following the tenures of the late Robert Mann (1988) and Walter Levin (1989–93).
Fellows and faculty of the 2014 Program for Piano & Strings, where Midori (seated second row from front, second from right) first worked with Ravinia Steans Music Institute
About the new appointment, Midori said, “I am very much looking forward to being involved in RSMI in this new capacity. Working with young musicians has been central to my career, and this program is one of the most important of its kind in the music field. It has been led for the last 30 years by Miriam Fried, and I am honored to inherit her remarkable legacy as I lead the program forward in the coming years.”
As the Piano & Strings Artistic Director, Midori will lead young professional violinists, violists, cellists, pianists, and members of pre-existing chamber groups through immersive and intensive rehearsals and coachings with a rotating roster of some of the world’s finest teaching artists, including herself. The Program for Piano & Strings concentrates on interpretation and small-group collaboration through the practice and performance of classical sonata and chamber repertoire. The 2024 program takes place June 23 through July 24.
Working in close partnership with the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Midori will strive to find new ways of engaging and advancing young professional musicians who view their experience at Ravinia as a critical part of their professional music careers as performers, educators, and artistic leaders.
Midori leading an RSMI Piano & Strings master class in 2014
Commenting on the next chapter of the renowned Piano & Strings Program, RSMI Director Alejandra Valarino Boyer said, “Midori’s renowned artistry and commitment to music education make her an excellent choice to lead the Piano & Strings Program. Her experiences as a performer, educator, and arts advocate will build on the legacy established by Miriam Fried to guide and mentor the next wave of classical musicians. We’re honored to have her join the Ravinia and Steans Music Institute team.”
Midori’s appointment comes as Fried prepares to welcome the 2023 cohort of Piano & Strings Program fellows for their June 19 – July 22 residency, Fried’s 30th and final season as director of the program. During her tenure, Fried trained numerous program alumni who have gone on to distinguished, often award-winning, careers and credit the Steans Music Institute and Fried as integral parts of their training and success.
“I would like to add my warmest welcome to Midori. In addition to her artistry, wisdom, and integrity, she brings her unending passion for music and the education of young people. The Steans Institute will be in wonderful hands,” Fried said.
ABOUT MIDORI
Photo: Nigel Parry
Midori is a visionary artist, activist, and educator who explores and builds connections between music and the human experience and breaks with traditional boundaries, which makes her one of the most outstanding violinists of our time. She has performed with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and has collaborated with world-renowned musicians including Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma, and many others. She marked the 40th anniversary of her professional debut during the 2022–23 season, celebrating a remarkable career that began in 1982, when she debuted with the New York Philharmonic at age 11.
During this anniversary season, Midori released a new recording of the complete Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin with the celebrated pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Warner Classics). Another highlight has been a project that combines two lifelong passions—the music of Bach and newly commissioned music—in a national solo recital tour featuring Bach’s six sonatas and partitas for solo violin alongside works by contemporary composers, including an appearance at Carnegie Hall in February 2023.
Midori made her Ravinia debut in 1987 as a soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and has returned to the festival’s stages a dozen times, including several appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and chamber concerts in both Bennett Gordon Hall (the home stage of RSMI) and the Martin Theatre (pictured here in 2010 with pianist Ozgur Aydin)
As someone deeply committed to furthering humanitarian and educational goals, she has founded several non-profit organizations to bring music to children and underserved communities. In recognition of her work as an artist and humanitarian, she serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2021, she was named a Kennedy Center Honoree.
Born in Osaka in 1971, she began her violin studies with her mother, Setsu Goto, at an early age. Midori is the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Violin Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and is a Distinguished Visiting Artist at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. She plays the 1734 Guarnerius del Gesù ‘ex-Huberman’ and uses four bows – two by Dominique Peccatte, one by François Peccatte, and one by Paul Siefried.