String in the New Year

There's nothing like watching an overachiever in action to make you throw up your hands and bid adieu to your new year's resolutions. The place for this weekend's dose of "When You Were 11, You Could Have Been Starting a Career in Beautiful Music Instead of Playing Atari and Eating Doritos" is the Lyric Theatre (1029 Central). At 8 tonight and Saturday night, the violinist known simply as Midori — who first played with the New York Philharmonic at age 11 and began her recording career at 14 — takes up her bow with the Kansas City Symphony to shame your curriculum vitae. Midori and the symphony also play at 2 p.m. Sunday at Yardley Hall in Johnson County Community College's Carlsen Center (12345 College Boulevard in Overland Park). On this weekend's crowd-pleasing program: Haydn's Symphony No. 1, Brahms' violin concerto and Sibelius' Symphony No. 5. At press time, only $60 balcony tickets remained for tonight's concert. Call 816-471-0400 or see kcsymphony.org. For Sunday's concert, call 913-469-4445.
Fri., Jan. 9, 8 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 10, 8 p.m., 2009