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The message light flashes on the office phone.

It's the publicist for superstar violinist Midori.

If you're asking, "Who?" you aren't alone.

She's not a rock or pop star. She's a classical musician who's performing July 5 at the Eastern Music Festival for the first time. A famous and busy one whose name and talent get her A-list treatment.

Her publicist lays down the ground rules for an interview.

Rule No. 1: We have to do it by e-mail. It makes articles more accurate, the publicist explains.

Rule No. 2: Midori is so busy, she needs two weeks to respond. "She is doing so much of it ... for journalists all over the world," the publicist says.

Rule No. 3: If you're lucky, and all the stars line up, she might talk by phone.

It's June 9. The concert is 26 days away. That's not a lot of time.

So you do what comes naturally.

You grumble. To other reporters. To your editor.

Then, in the name of journalism, you do what you must.

You e-mail questions.

When dealing with celebs, you've got to work ahead. Reporters can spend weeks waiting for a phone interview with a time-starved star.

You pray that it comes through, that you ask interesting questions - and that they say something profound.

The phone call can arrive without warning - and end in a scant 15 minutes.

For EMF 2006, I had a 15-minute phone interview scheduled with another superstar violinist, Joshua Bell. And when his publicist said 15 minutes, she meant it.

"Would you like a last-question warning, or a one-minute warning?" his publicist asked.

Bell wasn't so intimidating, graciously answering questions sent by EMF students.

But I had no scheduled phone interview with drummer Max Weinberg of "Late Night" and E Street Band fame before he came to town last year.

For more than a week, I left messages. Nights and weekends, I kept my cell phone close, hoping for a call back.

Finally, with my deadline approaching, the phone rang. Weinberg gave a friendly interview, then ran off to rehearsal.

Sometimes, the call never comes.

Last summer, I hoped for a phone interview with soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples.

Her publicist tried to make it happen; it didn't.

I was left frustrated, disappointed, embarrassed, and wondering: What should I have done differently?

So after e-mailing Midori, worry sets in. What if she doesn't respond?

There are good reasons to cut her some slack.

Now 36, this former child prodigy has long led a demanding life.

Born in Osaka, Japan, Midori Goto began studying violin with her mother as a tot. She gave her first public performance at age 7.

They moved in 1982 to New York, where Midori studied violin at The Juilliard School.

When New York Philharmonic conductor Zubin Mehta heard the 11-year-old play, he invited her as a surprise soloist for its New Year's Eve concert.

She received a standing ovation that launched a career, one that has taken her to performances around the world.

Her concerts get attention from such major newspapers as The New York Times and the Washington Post.

"Most child prodigies learn by rote and spend their lives doing that, and are not successful ultimately," says Gerard Schwarz, music director of the Eastern Music Festival. "As she has grown older, she continued to investigate all aspects of the music she was performing. ... What she does on the violin continues to be remarkable."

She teaches at the University of Southern California, leads master classes for young violinists around the world and runs several music education projects for children and communities in the States and abroad.

For that work, the United Nations named her a Messenger of Peace.

OK, so she has a lot going on.

But after all, she is coming here to perform.

Surely she'll fit us in.

Six days after sending my questions, I hear the familiar ping of an e-mail arriving in my inbox.

It's from Midori.

She has just returned home to Los Angeles from Japan, where she performed and worked with youngsters through her Music Sharing program.

"I can invest much more of myself in an e-mail interview than in a brief face-to-face meeting or a phone call," she explained. "I work on the

answers one by one at any hour of the day or night, a method which allows me to dedicate more time and considerable reflection to each question."

Guess I won't need to wait by the phone.

Contact Dawn DeCwikiel-Kane at 373-5204 or dawn.kane@news-record.com