Media

Violin superstar Midori returns to Hong Kong
for recital and concert with Hong Kong Sinfonietta

For immediate release
10 Nov 2025

Seven years since her last visit, superstar violinist Midori is returning to Hong Kong this November under the invitation of Hong Kong Sinfonietta to perform a recital and a concert with the orchestra.

Debuting with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic at the age of 11, triumphing at Tanglewood under Leonard Bernstein after breaking two E strings in a legendary performance at the age of 14, Japanese-American violinist Midori needs no introduction. One of the greatest prodigies the world has ever seen, grown into a truly visionary artist with a marvellous career spanning more than four decades so far, Midori has worked with all top orchestras around the world, and is also active as an educator and humanitarian. She makes a highly anticipated return to Hong Kong to perform with Hong Kong Sinfonietta again on 29 Nov (Sat), this time performing Mendelssohn’s exquisite Violin Concerto in E minor under the baton of Daniel Raiskin, Designated Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra. Tchaikovsky’s monumental Symphony No 6 and a young Shostakovich’s Scherzo complete what promises to be a breathtaking programme of time-tested masterpieces and extraordinary fireworks.

On 27 Nov (Thu), Midori will also join hands with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute to present a brilliant recital programme centred around 19^th century lyricism. Starting with Beethoven’s well-loved “Spring” Sonata, the pair will take you on an intimate journey through the sublime works of Schubert, Poulenc, Robert Schumann and Clara Schumann – an unmissable evening for any classical music lover.

Both concerts are part of the Japan Autumn Festival and will take place at the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall.

HKS Recital Series:

Midori Violin Recital

27 Nov 2025 (Thursday) | 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$620, $420, $250

Violin: Midori
Piano: Ieva Jokubaviciute

Programme
Beethoven – Sonata for Piano & Violin No 5 in F, Op 24, “Spring”
Schubert – Fantasie for Violin & Piano in C, D934
Poulenc – Sonata for Violin & Piano, FP119
Schumann – Three Romances for Violin & Piano, Op 94
Clara Schumann – Three Romances for Violin & Piano, Op 22
Schubert – Rondo Brillante in B minor for Violin & Piano, D895

Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Great Violin Concertos: Midori plays Mendelssohn

29 Nov 2025 (Saturday) | 8pm
Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
$800, $580, $380, $280

Conductor: Daniel Raiskin
Violin: Midori

Programme
Shostakovich – Scherzo No 1 in F-sharp minor, Op 1
Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto in E minor, Op 64
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No 6 in B minor, Op 74, “Pathétique”

Half-price tickets available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and their minder, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients
10% discount for group bookings of 4 or more standard tickets
20% discount when purchasing standard tickets to both performances mentioned above
Suitable for 6 years old or above
Tickets at URBTIX
Tickets online at POPTICKET (no handling fee)

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Daniel Raiskin Conductor

With his unmistakable artistic signature, Daniel Raiskin has become one of the most recognised conductors of his generation, and has developed a broad repertoire beyond the mainstream in his strikingly conceived programmes. A son of a prominent musicologist, he grew up in St Petersburg and attended the celebrated conservatory in his native city, before continuing his studies in Amsterdam and Freiburg. Initially focusing on the viola, he was inspired to take up the baton as a result of an encounter with the distinguished teacher Lev Savich. In addition, he also took classes with maestri such as Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Milan Horvat, Woldemar Nelsson and Jorma Panula.

Raiskin is the Designated Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava, Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, and Permanent Guest Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic in Bratislava.

The 2025/2026 season sees Raiskin touring Spain and Japan with the Slovak Philharmonic, as well as the UK, Amsterdam and Salzburg with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra. His regular guest appearances include Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO), Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre National de Lyon, Residentie Orkest, Sinfonia Varsovia, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Warsaw Philharmonic. He was previously Chief Conductor of the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Lódz, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz and Slovak Philharmonic, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife.

Raiskin’s appearances in opera productions include Carmen, Don Giovanni and Shostakovich’s The Nose. His festival appearances include Music in the Mountains 2025 in Colorado and the InClassica Dubai International Music Festival 2021 and 2022 with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. He also toured Japan and Korea with the orchestra in 2023.

Raiskin is relentlessly committed to sharing his knowledge and passion with young musicians around the world. He devotes his time regularly to working with youth orchestras in Canada, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands and South Africa.

Among the major soloists with whom he has appeared are Emanuel Ax, Rudolf Buchbinder, Cameron Crozman, Xavier de Maistre, Renée Fleming, Nelson Freire, Martin Fröst, Alban Gerhardt, Vadim Gluzman, Natalia Gutman, Daniel Hope, Kari Kriikku, Simone Lamsma, Lang Lang, Dejan Lazić, François Leleux, Jan Lisiecki, Alexei Lubimov, Tatjana Masurenko, Albrecht Mayer, Daniel Müller-Schott, Olli Mustonen, Julian Rachlin, Benjamin Schmid, Julian Steckel, Anna Vinnitskaya, Lukáš Vondráček and Alexei Volodin.

Raiskin’s extensive discography includes recordings of Mahler Symphony No 3 and Shostakovich Symphony No 4 with the label AVI, both to great critical acclaim; a Louis Glass symphony cycle and a cycle of the entire concertos and rhapsodies of Aram Khachaturian, both with the label CPO; Lutosławski’s vocal-instrumental works with the label Dux; and a recording of Alexandre Tansman’s Isaïe le Prophète and Psaumes with the label World Premiere Recordings. His recording of cello concertos by Korngold, Bloch and Goldschmidt with Julian Steckel on AVI received an ECHO Klassik Award in 2012.

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Midori Violin

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 début with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, 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.

The 2025/2026 season sees Midori make two appearances at Carnegie Hall. She also joins the Estonian Festival Orchestra with Paavo Järvi for Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa as part of an all-Pärt programme in honour of the composer’s 90th birthday, returns to perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Orchestra of St Luke’s and conductor Masaaki Suzuki, and premieres Resonances of Spirit, a new work for violin and electronics written for her by Che Buford, at Williams College in Massachusetts where Midori is invited for a residency. Other orchestra appearances in the USA this season include the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Nodoka Okisawa in Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, and the Albany and Knoxville symphony orchestras.

In addition to her USA appearances, Midori’s European soloist engagements include the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra with Christoph Eschenbach, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig with Paavo Järvi, and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony with Michael Sanderling, where she is to receive the Pablo Casals Award from the Kronberg Academy. She also performs chamber music with pianist Jonathan Biss and cellist Antoine Lederlin. She makes two appearances in London, with a Wigmore Hall recital and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In Asia, she performs recitals in Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines, joins the Festival Strings Lucerne for a tour in Japan, and performs with Hong Kong Sinfonietta. She also performs on tour in South America this season.

Midori’s forthcoming release on Pentatone, expected in spring 2026, features music by Robert and Clara Schumann with Festival Strings Lucerne.

Deeply committed to furthering humanitarian and educational goals, Midori has founded several non-profit organisations. The New York City-based Midori & Friends, active for over three decades, offers accessible, tuition-free music education programmes to students in the city. Based in Japan, MUSIC SHARING brings both Western classical and traditional Japanese music to young people throughout Japan and developing areas of Asia; the organisation’s International Community Engagement Program travels to Cambodia this season. For the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP) which supports youth orchestras, Midori commissioned a new work from composer Derek Bermel, Spring Cadenzas, which was premiered virtually during the COVID lockdown and continues to be performed; in 2023, ORP worked with the Afghan Youth Orchestra, and this season ORP works with the South Bend Youth Symphony in Indiana and Joy of Music in Worcester Massachusetts. Her Partners in Performance helps to bring chamber music to smaller communities in the USA. 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.

Born in Osaka in 1971, Midori began her violin studies with her mother, Setsu Goto, at an early age. In 1982, Zubin Mehta invited the then 11-year-old Midori to perform with the New York Philharmonic in the orchestra’s annual New Year’s Eve concert, where the foundation was laid for her subsequent career. She recently joined the faculty of The Juilliard School, and is the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Violin Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, as well as Artistic Director of Ravinia Steans Music Institute’s Piano & Strings programme. She is the recipient of honorary doctorates from Smith College, Yale University, Longy School of Music of Bard College and Shenandoah University, and of the 2023 Brandeis Creative Arts Award from Brandeis University.

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Ieva Jokubaviciute Piano

Lithuanian pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute’s powerfully intricate performances have led critics to describe her as possessing “razor-sharp intelligence and wit” (The Washington Post) and “an artist of commanding technique, refined temperament, and persuasive insight” (The New York Times). In 2006, she was honoured as a recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship.

In 2021, Sono Luminus released Jokubaviciute’s latest recording, Northscapes, featuring works by 21^st century composers from the Nordic and Baltic countries of Europe. Gramophone described it as “a fascinating, well-balanced programme, played with engrossingly undemonstrative virtuosity… Jokubaviciute navigates the contrasting demands of each work with hugely impressive skill.”

Jokubaviciute’s recital programmes and recording projects bring her to major stages across the USA and Europe. She made her orchestral début with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival and has since performed concertos with orchestras in Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Washington DC and Fargo.

A highly sought-after chamber musician and collaborator, Jokubaviciute appears on major stages throughout North America and tours extensively in Europe, Japan, India and South America. She regularly performs at international music festivals including the Marlboro, Ravinia, Chesapeake, Prussia Cove and La Lointaine festivals. Recently, she participated at the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Festival Mozaic and Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival. She is a founding member of Trio Cavatina, a winner of the Naumburg International Chamber Music Competition.

Earning degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Mannes College of Music, Jokubaviciute’s principal teachers were Seymour Lipkin and Richard Goode. She is currently Professor of the Practice of Music at Duke University in North Carolina, where she has been a faculty member since 2020. Previously, she was Associate Professor of Piano at the Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia.

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