Although, apparently, Midori once blew out half the strings on her violin during a concerto and managed to finish the piece anyway.


Well... yes, and no.

She broke a string (E string? is that right?) and then did what is traditionally done in that situation: she appropriated the Concert Master's violin and continued. Later in the piece, she broke a string on that violin as well, and appropriated yet another violin in order to finish.

The remarkable thing is that she was only 14 years old at the time, it was her American debut (New York Philharmonic if memory serves) and she handled it with calmness and aplomb far beyond what would be expected of someone that age.

She is now recognized as being perhaps the greatest violinist currently active, and one of the greatest of all time.

tanstaafl.