Midori (Photo: Nigel Parry)
Superstar violinist Midori has been appointed the next artistic director for the Ravinia Steans Music Institute’s Piano & Strings Program. She will take the role in 2024 to succeed Miriam Fried, who’s led the program for the past 30 years.
The 2023 residency — Fried’s final as artistic director — takes place from June 23 to July 24, and features recitals with up-and-coming artists, masterclasses with leading musicians, and a chamber concert celebrating women artists that is presented in conjunction with Ravinia’s Breaking Barriers festival.
Born in Osaka, Japan, Midori first performed with the New York Philharmonic at age 11, kickstarting a distinguished career in orchestral and chamber settings that has spanned four decades. She currently holds faculty positions at the prestigious Curtis and Peabody Institutes, and in 2020, she received the Kennedy Center Honors.
Midori most recently appeared at Ravinia in 2016 — she had been scheduled to perform in the 2021 season but withdrew because of illness. Midori last appeared in Chicago in October 2022, delivering a chamber program at the CSO’s Symphony Center with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
