Johann Sebastian Bach’s baroque compositions and Astor Piazzolla’s tango pieces represented contrasting ends of solo violin repertoire in an exciting performance by Portland State’s Dr. Tomas Cotik. The Oct. 22 concert in PSU’s Lincoln Hall celebrated the release of Cotik’s new CD Astor Piazzolla: Legacy...Cotik opened with Bach’s “Partita No. 1 in B minor” then moved on to “Partita No. 3 in E major.” He used a baroque bow for both pieces for authenticity and demonstrated virtuosic technique along with crystalline tone. After the Partitas, Cotik played selections from Piazzolla’s Tango Etudes, Libertango and Escualo, a newly recorded Legacy piece. The dancing melodies and busy accompaniment of the Piazzolla pieces evoked the romantic spirit of Piazzolla and Cotik’s native Buenos Aires. Cotik’s final number was a surprise. He and his violin students performed Piazzolla’s Ava Maria and Oblivion, arranged by PSU Orchestra director Ken Selden. The students swarmed the stage as he lead them in both pieces. Cotik is now in his second year at PSU, and this concert was a wonderful show of the hard work he’s put in here with his students. As of January 2018, Legacy’s album has received the Supersonic Award from Pizzicato Journal, a Luxembourg magazine dedicated to classical music, and has been nominated in the 2018 International Classical Music Awards, as well as receiving rave reviews from international publications such as Downbeat and Textura. Colton Trujillo READ MORE