Press Release
MIDORI AND SWITZERLAND’S FESTIVAL STRINGS LUCERNE PERFORM SCHUMANN’S RICH AND MELODIC VIOLIN CONCERTO AND MORE!
IRVINE, CA— The Philharmonic Society of Orange County presents Grammy-Award winning violinist Midori with Festival Strings Lucerne on Friday, November 10, 2023, 8pm, at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Festival Strings Lucerne will perform works by Beethoven, Honegger, and Dubugnon. Midori will also join the chamber orchestra to perform Schumann’s Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s Romance. This marks the third time the Philharmonic Society has presented Midori in under 5 years. This performance is supported by The Segerstrom Foundation.
Midori is a visionary artist, activist and educator who explores and builds connections between music and the human experience. In the four decades since her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, the “simply magical” (Houston Chronicle) violinist 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. Midori is also the newly appointed Artistic Director of Ravinia Steans Music Institute’s Piano & Strings program in Chicago and will oversee the program beginning in summer 2024.
Midori celebrated her 40th anniversary last season with Warner Classics’ release of the complete Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. She began the current season with a summer appearance at the Santander International Festival, followed by fall tours of Europe and North America with Festival Strings Lucerne performing Schumann’s Violin Concerto in D minor and Beethoven’s Romance No. 2, the latter of which she recorded with the Swiss chamber orchestra for an album of Beethoven released on Warner Classics in 2020 and will continue to tour in the 2023-24 season.
Other 2023-2024 season highlights include performing Bernstein’s Serenade with the National Repertory Orchestra under Michael Stern, WDR Symphony in Germany under Constantinos Carydis, and Sofia Philharmonic in Bulgaria. She plays Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in A minor with the Iris Collective and Orchestra Lumos, also under Stern’s baton, and with the Prague Philharmonia under Eugene Tzigane; she also performs a recital at the Long Center in Austin, Texas. In 2024, she gives two performances of the 2019 Violin Concerto An die Unsterbliche Geliebte (“To the Immortal Beloved”), written for her by Detlev Glanert in January with the NDR Radiophilharmonie under Andrew Manze, and in February with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, a co-commissioner of the work.
Deeply committed to furthering humanitarian and educational goals, Midori has founded several non-profit organizations; the New York City-based Midori & Friends and Japan-based MUSIC SHARING which both celebrated 30th anniversaries in 2022-2023. For the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP), which supports youth orchestras, Midori commissioned a new work from composer Derek Bermel to be performed virtually during the COVID lockdown, and ORP recently worked with the Afghan Youth Orchestra (in exile in Portugal). Midori’s Partners in Performance (PiP) helps to bring chamber music to smaller communities in the U.S. In recognition of her work as an artist and humanitarian, she serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2021.
The Festival Strings Lucerne was founded in 1956, quickly establishing itself among the most distinguished chamber orchestras in Europe and around the world. The orchestra made its debuts at the Salzburg Festival in 1957, in New York in 1959, in Mexico City in 1963, in Tokyo in 1971, and in Sydney in 1977.
The orchestra offers a wide-ranging repertoire in its own concert series at the KKL Lucerne and as guest ensemble at the Lucerne Festival, while regularly appearing at such European concert halls as Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie Berlin, Amsterdam’s Het Concertgebouw, and the Vienna Musikverein.
The Festival Strings Lucerne, currently led by violinist Daniel Dodds, was established as a string orchestra with harpsichord by the Viennese violin legend Wolfgang Schneiderhan and the Swiss conductor and violinist Rudolf Baumgartner. From the start, the ensemble has been committed to developing the noble glow and warmth of the Austro-Hungarian string sound tradition. Dodds, who was appointed artistic director in 2012, leads the orchestra from the concertmaster’s chair, continuing the example set by Baumgartner. Daniel Dodds has particularly extended the scope of the ensemble, adding instruments as required, to facilitate performances of midsize symphonic repertoire.
The orchestra, whose repertoire ranges from baroque music to the contemporary, has premiered over one hundred works by such composers as Jean Françaix, Frank Martin, Bohuslav Martinů, Sándor Veress, Iannis Xenakis, Krzystof Penderecki, Klaus Huber, and Peter Ruzicka. The ensemble has recently collaborated with such leading musicians as Daniil Trifonov, Bernard Haitink, Rudolf Buchbinder, Mischa Maisky, and Midori.
The Festival Strings Lucerne has a long history of distinguished recordings, first on the Deutsche Grammophon label, with later recordings released by Decca, Eurodisc, Denon, Sony Classical, Pentatone, and Warner Classics. These include such memorable studio collaborations as with Clara Haskil performing Mozart, Pierre Fournier performing Haydn, and Zino Francescatti playing Bach.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, is located at 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Ticket prices start at $38 and are available at the Philharmonic Society box office at (949) 553-2422, online at www.philharmonicsociety.org, and at the Segerstrom Center box office at (714) 556-2787.
ABOUT THE PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY:
Founded in 1954 as Orange County’s first music organization, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County presents national and international performances of the highest quality and provides dynamic and innovative music education programs for individuals of all ages to enhance the lives of Orange County audiences through music.
Since its inception, the Philharmonic Society has evolved and grown with the county’s changing landscape, presenting artists and orchestras who set the standard for artistic achievement from Itzhak Perlman, Gustavo Dudamel, Yo-Yo Ma, and Renée Fleming to the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and many others. In addition, the Philharmonic Society celebrates multi-disciplinary performances under its Eclectic Orange brand and embraces music from a wide range of countries with its World Music performances. Its celebrated family concerts introduce children to classical music with creative and inspiring performances, instilling music appreciation for future generations.
The Philharmonic Society’s nationally recognized Youth Music Education Programs, offered free of charge, engage more than 100,000 students annually through curriculum-based music education programs that aim to inspire, expand imaginations, and encourage learning at all levels. These programs are made possible by the Committees of the Philharmonic Society comprised of 500 volunteer members who provide more than 90,000 hours of in-kind service each year. As a key youth program, the exceptional Orange County Youth Symphony and String Ensemble provide top-tier training to the area’s most talented young musicians through multi-level ensemble instruction, leadership training, touring opportunities, challenging professional repertoire, and performances in world-class venues. The Philharmonic Society also promotes life-long learning by connecting with colleges and universities to conduct masterclasses and workshops and providing pre-concert lectures to introduce audiences to program selections.
CONTACTS:
Adaora Onyebeke
(949) 553-2422, ext. 105
adaora@philharmonicsociety.org
Marie Songco-Torres
(949) 553-2422, ext. 230