Last Year by American composer Michael Torke (b. 1961) suggests the beautiful melancholy of a cold, overcast winter day.
The solo violin’s contemplative melody emerges over frigid, unrelenting pizzicati. As the music develops, the concertmaster picks up the melody and enters into a duet with the soloist. To my ears, there are echoes of the music of Tchaikovsky at its loneliest and most brooding.
This is part of a collection of twelve meditative pieces for violin and string orchestra, composed in 2025, simply titled Last. Each of the titles evokes the passage of time. They can be performed separately, or as a whole. (Previously, we have explored Last Month and Last Fall). Torke comments that they “are almost like second movements of violin concertos.” His program notes for Last are as follows:
The Stoics recommend we live in the present: to fret over the past or stress about the future is counterproductive because these lie beyond our control. But I think there are other ways to respond to the past. We can cherish and even mourn what is no longer present. For me, our past populates our present, whether it be last year, last month, last week, or last Sunday.
Recordings
- Torke: Last, Siwoo Kim, East Coast Chamber Orchestra michaeltorke.com
Reminiscent of “Spiegel im Spiegel”, Arvo Part.