Japanese-born violinist
Midori emerged as a sensational child prodigy, making her
New York Philharmonic debut at the staggering age of ten. She was quickly taken under the wing of conductor
Zubin Mehta and began her recording career began. Unlike so many child prodigies whose rapid ascension to fame often results in just as rapid of a burnout,
Midori has retained her standing as a respected and sought-after artist and humanitarian. Her early recordings clearly demonstrate her almost unbelievable technical prowess while her later albums have shown that she has built upon the solid technical foundations to include sincere, satisfying musical understanding as well. This Newton Classics album stems from early in
Midori's career -- 1987 -- with recordings of the
Paganini First Violin Concerto and
Tchaikovsky's Sérénade mélancolique, Op. 26, and Valse-scherzo, Op. 34. While her playing at this young age is far from cold, it is definitely more rigid and less fluid than her adult contributions. The pyrotechnics in the
Paganini concerto are certainly the highlight of the album as
Midori effortlessly tosses them off as though she's playing nothing more than a scale. The two
Tchaikovsky works offer fewer opportunities to show off technical abilities and as such are slightly less dazzling than the
Paganini. Fans of this exceptional artist will, however, find merit in this album as a testament to the increase in musical introspection that has come to
Midori with age.