Contrasts 31. Castillo Interior

Performers:

• Roksolana Zakopets, violin
• Alexander Brown, cello
• Olena Miso, piano

Programme:

• Pēteris Vasks (*1946, LV). Episodi e Canto Perpetuo (1985)
  Castillo Interior for violin and cello (2013)
• Victor Kosenko (1896–1938, UA). Classical Trio in D Major, Op. 17

Moderator: Polina Kordovska

Paradoxically, the exhausting injustice of reality can also be a powerful impetus for creation, faith, and introspection. At times, the only way to win the battle of good versus evil is to build the uncompromising walls of one’s own self – an inner castle. For the Ukrainian composer Victor Kosenko, this inner castle was the lyricism he preserved under the pressure of the 20th century. His works combine, in an eclectic way, the retrospection of European Romanticism with the gift of a new era – Ukrainian Modernism.

Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, a witness to the scorched earth of his own people, devoted his life to creating music whose goodness triumphs. His sentimental trio Episodi e Canto Perpetuo, in the composer’s own words, “…describes a difficult journey through the realm of sorrow, disappointment, and the suffering of love, which becomes the axis of the work.” Vasks gently guides the listener through eight short movements, the struggle of the central part, and the relief of light’s victory in the finale.

The piece Castillo Interior was inspired by the composer’s stay at a meditation house on the Baltic Sea. The work is named after Saint Teresa of Ávila and refers to her book Moradas del Castillo Interior. A number of dedications are complemented by the mention of violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, whose playing brought the first performances of numerous works of contemporary classical music to life. The performance of Castillo Interior at “Contrasts” carries a moving dedication from the performers: they dedicate it to their friend who was killed in a missile attack.

Mariia Levkovych