Coco Tomita & Simon Callaghan - Echoes

Coco Tomita & Simon Callaghan: Echoes

Sunday 03 March 2025 at 15:30

Arvo Pärt Fratres violin and piano 
Leoš Janácek Violin Sonata 
Arvo Pärt Für Alina solo piano 
Sergei Prokofiev Violin Sonata Op.80 
Arvo Pärt Spiegel im Spiegel violin and piano 

Join award-winning violinist Coco Tomita and acclaimed pianist Simon Callaghan for a captivating journey through Eastern European landscapes, viewed through the intimate lens of violin and piano chamber music. This extraordinary concert showcases the profound emotional depth, innovative beauty, and cultural richness of Janácek, Prokofiev, and Pärt. In celebration of Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday, the programme also features three of his iconic works – profound, timeless compositions providing a spiritual thread throughout the concert.
 
Composed in 1977 and created during Pärt's transformative discovery of his Tintinnabuli style, Fratres (Brothers – Lat.) employs simple, bell-like tones that create a haunting, meditative atmosphere. Existing in several versions, the violin and piano arrangement adds a technically demanding solo part to the recurring three-part theme, emphasizing the contrast between the changing and constant elements of the composition.
 
Next, Leoš Janácek’s Violin Sonata offers a vivid, passionate expression of the human spirit, full of sharp contrasts. Composed between 1914 and 1915 amidst the turmoil of World War I, the sonata reflects the profound emotional impact of the conflict. Janácek’s late style is marked by abrupt rhythmic changes and brief, striking melodic motifs, creating a compact yet intensely expressive work that blends tension, warmth, and fragmentation.
 
Pärt’s Für Alina, for solo piano, is another deeply contemplative piece which embodies Pärt’s Tintinnabuli technique, where sparse, bell-like piano notes create an intimate space that encourages reflection on the relationship between silence and sound, stillness and movement. The work’s simplicity carries transformative power, with each note resonating like a quiet prayer and guiding the listener toward transcendence and inner peace.
 
In contrast, Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata Op.80 written after his return to the Soviet Union, is a work of lyrical grace and emotional complexity, capturing both the turmoil and the resilience of its time.
 
The programme concludes with Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, for violin and piano, epitomizing his mastery in creating tranquil, meditative soundscapes. The serene dialogue between the instruments mirrors the stillness and beauty of the world around us, bringing the concert to a peaceful, introspective close.

This concert will be approximately 1 hour in duration, without an interval.