Torke’s Violin Concerto ‘Last’ – A Balm for the Soul

September 7, 2025, 10:53 AM · Music can do so many things. Inspire. Heal. Move us to be courageous. It can make us laugh, dance, and sing. And, as I’ve recently realized through Michael Torke’s newest composition, it can allow us to simply let go of the burdens we carry – even if just for a few minutes at a time.

Violinist Siwoo Kim perform's Michael Torke's newest work, "Last."

You may remember Torke from his bluegrass-inspired violin concerto Sky, written for violinist Tessa Lark in 2018 and nominated for a 2020 Grammy.

Torke’s latest - a 12-movement work for solo violin and strings, Last, will be released in full later this year. For now, the composer is sharing a few single-track releases, starting with Last Fall. Each movement – with names such as Last Night, Last Month, Last Year – is roughly four minutes in length, allowing the listener to dip in and out at will, or even listen in a different order.

The surprising thing for me was how these simple names freed up my mind from the stresses of the day and had me pondering moments from earlier times. Torke plants this seed in such a subtle way with these basic titles, and yet they are a powerful stimulus.

Torke observed that "many listeners use music as a mood playlist at the end of an exhausting day." He wrote these 12 pieces as miniature slow movements of violin concertos "that bid us to feel retrospectively."

I love that notion of feeling retrospectively. Of remembering things that are in our past with fondness and appreciation for what they meant to us at the time. And Torke’s music has the power to be both uplifting and somber simultaneously.

The recording features Siwoo Kim on violin and the East Coast Chamber Orchestra. Both soloist and orchestra are exemplary.

Kim’s playing is rich with emotion without tipping into sentimentality. He doles out his beautiful vibrato in restrained portions, making it all the sweeter when it comes. His bow control is extraordinary. And his elegant, understated stage presence allows full access to the beauty of Torke’s music without any distractions.

The orchestra plays with precision and grace – each string section clearly understanding when to rise and when to recede. Again, it would be so easy to cross the line between simplicity and grandeur, thereby intruding on the intimacy of the moment. The players know exactly where that line is, and they reverently stay on the side Torke intended.

To close, Torke’s own words:

"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."

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