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Artist: Midori
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Bach & Bartok

In a refreshing juxtaposition of repertoire, Midori's first new recording in five years, features J.S. Bach's Unaccompanied Sonata No.2 in A Minor with Bartok's Sonata No.1 in C-sharp Minor. The SONY BMG Masterworks recording becomes available on January 1, 2008.  Pianist Robert McDonald joins Midori in the Bart?k. "Both in my own personal listening and in concert programs, I really enjoy combining works from diverse historical periods - I believe they shed light on one another in the most wonderful way," says Midori, "so I thought it would be terrific to put these two great sonatas next to one another on a recording."

The 2007-2008 season marks Midori's first quarter-century before the public. In a year characteristically replete with activity, Midori will play over 90 concerts, making six trips to Europe and three to Asia. Among the highlights of Midori's season will be bringing a unique project to Lincoln Center combining the music of J.S.Bach, Takemitsu and Schnittke; traveling to Florida with the Cleveland Orchestra and to Japan with the Philadelphia Orchestra; making her third all-new music recital tour, this time to Europe; devoting significant energy to her myriad community engagement initiatives in the U.S. and in Asia, and significantly increasing her commitment to USC's Thornton School of Music, as she assumes the position of Chair of the Strings Department in September. On September 21st, the International Day of Peace, Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, designated Midori an official Messenger of Peace, a great honor  accorded fewer than 20 people since the U.N. program's inception over ten years ago.

Another significant milestone of Midori's 2007-08 season is the 15th Anniversary of her very first community engagement program, Midori & Friends. The program, started by Midori in response to cutbacks in arts education in New York City schools, has blossomed from modest beginnings to a 4-tiered, 26-week program offering instrument instruction, elementary music theory, family concerts, and jazz and world music concerts, in addition to classroom appearances by Midori and other guest artists, to school children throughout the city of New York. Since its inception this program has reached 150,000 underprivileged children. As part of her other community engagement programs this season, Midori will visit Cambodia (Music Sharing International), Minnesota (Partners in Performance), Iowa (Orchestra Residencies Program), Montana (Partners in Performance) and South Dakota (Orchestra Residencies Program).