Last

Michael Torke’s “Last Summer”: Music for Solo Violin and String Orchestra

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Last Summer by American composer Michael Torke (b. 1961) is a reflection on the passage of time. Its quietly noble descending bass line is set in sixths, a rich interval Brahms used in his most nostalgic works. (For example, listen to the opening of the autumnal Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118). This excerpt is part of a collection of twelve meditative pieces for violin and string orchestra, composed in 2025, simply …

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Michael Torke’s “Last Year”: Music for Solo Violin and String Orchestra

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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 …

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Michael Torke’s “Last Month”: New Music for Solo Violin and String Orchestra

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Last Month, the newest installment of American composer Michael Torke’s Last was released earlier this week. Scored for solo violin and string orchestra, the collection of twelve meditative pieces can be performed separately, or as a whole. The titles evoke memories and the passage of time. (Last Fall, Last Year, Last Month, Last Sunday, etc.) Torke comments that they “are almost like second movements of violin concertos.” His program notes for Last are as follows: The Stoics recommend …

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Michael Torke’s “Last Fall”: New Music for Solo Violin and String Orchestra

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American composer Michael Torke (b. 1961) has just completed a new concerto for solo violin and string orchestra simply titled Last. Last is a collection of twelve meditative pieces that can be performed separately, or as a whole. The titles evoke memories and the passage of time. (Last Fall, Last Year, Last Month, Last Sunday, etc.) Torke comments that they “are almost like second movements of violin concertos.” His program notes for Last are as follows: The Stoics recommend …

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