Midori Comes to Ciminelli Recital Hall February 5
Classical music-lovers have the rare opportunity to hear internationally renowned violinist Midori perform in Buffalo during an intimate concert on February 5 in the Louis P. Ciminelli Recital Hall in Rockwell Hall.
Midori will perform five sonatas by Beethoven, Bach, and Brahms in an 8:00 p.m. gala performance to benefit the Music Department. She will be joined on piano by Turkish pianist Ozgur Aydin.
Born in Japan in 1971, Midori has thrilled crowds throughout the world since she made her debut at age 11. Now, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her performing career, Midori is giving presentations of the complete violin solo sonatas and partitas of J.S. Bach at North American festivals, along with a tour of U.S., European, and Asian cities. Named Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Southern California in 2012, Midori continues to work with her students at USC’s Thornton School, where she serves as Jascha Heifetz Chair and chair of the Strings Department.
Aydin, who now resides in Berlin, Germany, has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras in Germany and Turkey, as well as with the BBC Concert Orchestra London, the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Slovak State Philharmonic, and Canada’s Calgary Philharmonic. He is participating in four recital tours with Midori.
On February 5, concert-goers have two choices for this unique performance. For $100, they can purchase a ticket to the performance alone. For $500, they receive a ticket to the performance, along with an elegant pre-performance dinner on the stage of the Performing Arts Center, a recital hall seat in their name or in honor of someone of their choosing, and a “meet and greet” with Midori. The latter ticket also includes a $300 tax deduction for a gift to the Music Department.
“We’re pleased to be able to offer two price points for people to hear Midori,” said Brad Fuster, chair of the Music Department. “Midori typically plays to enormous, packed venues. Even sitting in the last row of the Ciminelli Recital Hall, you are closer to her than you would probably be anywhere else.”
The 194-seat Ciminelli Recital Hall, located on the third floor of Rockwell Hall, provides an intimate setting with excellent acoustics, a raised stage, and a fully restored Mason & Hamlin concert grand piano. It officially opened on November 4 with a performance by JoAnn Falletta, classical guitarist and award-winning conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, along with clarinetist Robert Alemany, and Buffalo State’s ensemble-in-residence, the Clara String Quartet. Since then, some 25 performances, including student recitals and campus ensembles, have taken place there.
Tickets for the Midori benefit dinner and concert are available from the Music Department, Rockwell Hall 203, and (716) 878-6401.