ABSTRACT
ON July 28, 1986, the front page of the New York Times carried this headline: “Girl, 14, Conquers Tanglewood with 3 Violins” (Rockwell, 1986). The article describes a performance by Midori of Bernstein’s Serenade, under the baton of the composer. In the fifth movement, she broke a string, quickly exchanged her violin for that of the concertmaster and continued playing. Amazingly, it happened again-she broke a string on the second violin, quickly exchanged it for the associate concertmaster’s violin and continued playing, finishing on the third violin. To add to the impressive feat, Midori’s own instrument was slightly smaller than the other two. So, on stage with the Boston Symphony, a worldrenowned conductor, and in front of a large audience, she performed an extremely difficult piece on three different violins in what was described as a technically near-perfect performance, all at the age of 14.
