Product Details

• Actors: Midori, Robert McDonald
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony
• VHS Release Date: February 25, 1992
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302331099
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,747 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supreme artist and virtuoso playing spellbinding music!, September 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Midori: Live at Carnegie Hall (Mozart, Strauss, Beethoven, Ernst, Chopin, Ravel) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When one watches Midori play, it may seem odd that she hardly ever looks joyful when playing joyful music, but no doubt we can sense that she has an intense feeling for the music, and effusively pours out her perceptions from a wide open heart. While she has not the vast arsenal of facial expressions of Gil Shaham, her diverse, copious, thoughtful, subtle, and touching musical expressions are second to none.

Another feature one quickly notices is her incredible hands. Her threadlike, elongated fingers seem to have been molded by God to create an effortless fingerboard gymnast; the lengthiness of the fourth [little] finger is simply amazing. Not only are her fingers outrageously far-stretching, but they are extraordinarily supple, hence she can easily employ rapid fingertip vibrato at the high registers. Her vibrato runs the gamut of speed and intensity, and may be generated by the wrist, the finger joints, or exactly like the Heifetz "impulse" type vibrato--named by Henry Roth, who claims it was motivated from somewhere within the arm.

After a light-hearted sonata by Mozart, Midori performs the magnificent, hyper-romantic, yet seldom recorded sonata by the young Richard Strauss. In contrast with the previous piece, this ultra-dramatic sonata is marvellously rich in content and expressive opportunities, and one can scarcely imagine it being played more effectively by someone else. Midori's technical finesse and enchanting tone, governed by a contemplative mind and a feverishly ardent heart, ready to pump out into the rapt audience at any moment, culminate in an immensely moving rendition. The listener must also credit the pianist Robert McDonald's spirited and sensitive playing. One can't help wondering why one so rarely hears this splendid piece.

Midori begins the second half with Beethoven's Sonata No. 8. She captures the gaiety and animation of the outer movements as well as anyone else, yet they are not fully gratifying. In the first movement, the exposition is repeated, later recapitulated, but unbelievably, her interpretations--though individually superb--of these three times are virtually the same, lacking in variety. In the third movement, her pursuit of wanton vivacity in a certain passage sacrifices the tone quality. Yet her slow movement is super-sensitive, particularly in transitional passages; it is the finest rendition of this movement I've ever heard--even superior to Szeryng's.

Midori audaciously elected to play in her New York debut Ernst's terrifying Variations on The Last Rose of Summer. Double-harmonics often make a good violinist sound like two bad ones, but Midori, with her exceptionally lengthy, slender, and agile fingers, effortlessly negotiates these intricacies and makes them sound as if they were played by two fine flutists. This will no doubt render multitudes of violinists, such as Heifetz, green with envy. The fiendishly difficult fireworks are all tossed off with lithe gracefulness and seeming ease; the left-hand pizzicatos are articulate, the harmonics pellucid, the octave shifts pure in intonation, and the tone quality immaculate.

Midori's prodigious prowess lies not only in her ability to make the most herculean pieces sound easy, but make them sound musical. We can try to forget about all the pyrotechnics; rather than marvel at her unprecedented instrumental mastery, we can immerse ourselves in the wonderfully beautiful music, and savour the bountiful nuances.

Anyone would badly need a respite after performing such a strenuous piece, and Midori gave her hands--but not her mind and heart--a brief relief in Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp minor. Here's another meticulously thought out and superbly expressive rendition that, complemented with a most sympathetic tone, can hardly fail to melt the attentive listener's heart.

The last piece on the printed program is Ravel's Tzigane [gypsy], another devilish, complex piece. The music begins with a long oration of the solo violin, the first part of it entirely on the G string. Even solely on one string, Midori, by dint of divergent bow pressures, portamentos and vibrato, plus rubato, creates a most colorful, elastic, luscious, bewitching, yet doleful tone. Throughout the piece, she perpetually captivates the audience with her breathtaking technical wizardry, variegated and multi-dimensional tone, boundless array of expressive devices, stark dynamic contrasts, and subtle phrasing.

Due to the limited space I have here, I cannot pinpoint several startling details of her innovative interpretation. To sum up, one can only be awe-struck by her sophisticated mind, natural gypsy spirit, and confident instrumental command, and revel in this superlative rendition of Olympian stature. After Debussy's rather brief, simplistic Beau Soir, Midori proceeded to play Sarasate's Zapateado as her second encore piece, which is one of the most fearsomely virtuosic pieces ever written by the Spaniard.

By this time Midori finally looks more at ease in her playing; indeed, she virtually frolics in the technical obstacles of this thorny piece, which is really how the true virtuoso, equipped with complete technical mastery, should play this gay and whimsical dance music. She smiles for the first time while performing when merely half a minute into the piece, numerous members in the audience, so overwhelmed by her brilliant flair, could not refrain from bursting into cheers and applause. This is understandable, for the crystal-clear and razor-sharp production of the dashing harmonic passage is veritably hair-raising and mind-boggling. She subsequently imparts even more tasteful rubato, contrasts, and other spices to this showpiece which, when elevated thus by Midori, doesn't sound superficial. It is regrettable that the Sony engineers didn't include this resplendent tour-de-force in the much more available CD version.

In a nutshell, it seems that the 19-year-old Midori has nearly reached the pinnacle of violin playing. Every rational, experienced and impartial person who had the privilege to witness this unforgettable concert will have to concede that, at least in expressive and virtuosic music, Midori is already a nonpareil. END

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Midori is a master, April 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Midori: Live at Carnegie Hall (Mozart, Strauss, Beethoven, Ernst, Chopin, Ravel) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have the cd and enjoy the music and thought I'd try out the video. Well, it's an experience beyond anything I've ever seen.

Seeing her play , the unique way she shapes each note was such an emotional experience for me. I rarely cry but in the middle of the Strauss E flat Sonata, I cried for a good 20 minutes because the beauty of the moment was just too much - I knew I was witnessing a miracle (I consider her playing a living miracle) .

I too am an amateur musician (piano and violin) and I know how great she is...

As far as the music, I enjoy all of it, and the Strauss Sonata is such a masterpiece. In fact, every few minutes it produces phrases so wonderful that it truly is art in itself.

I'm afraid I've overplayed this video and need another copy - I'll be happy to buy another !

michael ,a Midori appreciator

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Colorful but unconvincing, August 7, 2003

By 

Scott68 (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midori: Live at Carnegie Hall (Mozart, Strauss, Beethoven, Ernst, Chopin, Ravel) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Even from a videotaped live performance, Midori has a wonderful violin tone. I remember the first time I heard her caprices, how great the tone was and how lush and expressive a vibrato she had even then.

It would be easier to compare Midori to Kreisler than Heifetz because she really has the elegant thing down but not the show off virtuoso part of the equation. Like Kreisler, I found her taking many liberties with respect to rythms for the sake of articulation expression and accuracy. Many times I can see she is just plain not confident and missing some kind of conviction that says Im all over this.

Robert McDonald is a superb and masterful pianist without a doubt but banga banga banga he's too loud and drounds out the violin. Perhaps he is a great soloist but it seems to me he should try to play with people better then he did here.