Origins Coco Tomita & Simon Callaghan

• George Enescu (1881 - 1955): Impressions d’enfance, Op. 28 (Arr. for Solo Violin):
• 1 Enescu: Impressions d’enfance, Op. 28 (Arr. for Solo Violin) 04:03
• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963): Violin Sonata, FP 119:
• 2 Poulenc: Violin Sonata, FP 119: I. Allegro con fuoco 06:45
• 3 Poulenc: Violin Sonata, FP 119: II. Intermezzo 06:24
• 4 Poulenc: Violin Sonata, FP 119: III. Presto tragico 06:08
• Lili Boulanger (1893 - 1918): 2 Pieces for Violin & Piano:
• 5 Boulanger: 2 Pieces for Violin & Piano: No. 1, Nocturne 03:22
• Jenö Hubay (1858 - 1937): Carmen (Fantaisie brillante), Op. 3 No. 3 [After Bizet's WD 31]:
• 6 Hubay: Carmen (Fantaisie brillante), Op. 3 No. 3 [After Bizet's WD 31] 10:40
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, M. 77:
• 7 Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, M. 77: I. Allegretto 08:14
• 8 Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, M. 77: II. Blues. Moderato 05:27
• 9 Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, M. 77: III. Perpetuum mobile. Allegro 04:00
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Beau soir, L. 6 (Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano):
• 10 Debussy: Beau soir, L. 6 (Arr. J. Heifetz for Violin & Piano) 02:33
• Total Runtime 57:36

Info for Origins

"Winner of the Strings Final of the BBC Young Musician in 2020, Coco Tomita’s stunning debut album features a varied programme, including works by Enescu, Poulenc, Boulanger, Hubay, Ravel and Debussy. The choice of repertoire for her debut recording was entirely Tomita’s own: 'Having complete freedom over what I wanted to share with the world was amazing, and put simply, I love all the pieces I’ve chosen deeply. They’ve resonated with me over the years, and I found really interesting connections between every piece and composer. The programme also relates to key figures of the 20th century, especially female violinists I hugely respect.' Those violinists include Ginette Neveu, the driving force behind Poulenc’s Violin Sonata, and Jelly d’Aranyi – taught by Jenő Hubay, whose Carmen is one of the pieces on the album that Tomita played to such acclaim during the BBC Young Musician. She is particularly fascinated by the Poulenc and Ravel Sonatas, which are at the heart of the album: 'there’s just so much to explore and express.'"

"The playing, technically dazzling and characterful, bursts with musical intelligence, with the experienced Callaghan an expressive duo partner. The choice of repertoire, of her own devising, is a refreshing mix." (The Guardian)

Coco Tomita, violin
Simon Callaghan, piano

Coco Tomita
was born in Japan in 2002 and began to play the violin when she was four years old. She became a pupil of Natasha Boyarsky when she was six, and in 2012 she was awarded a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School where she has continued to study with Mrs Boyarsky.

In 2010, at the age of eight, Coco became the youngest contestant to win Third Prize in the Junior section of the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in Fermo, Italy. Two years later, she made her debut appearance at the Cadogan Hall, London performing as a soloist with the Southbank Sinfonia.

Since joining the Yehudi Menuhin School she has given many performances; in October 2013 she was one of the soloists for Vivaldi: Concerto for Four Violins with the Menuhin School Orchestra in Holland, and a year later at the Milton Court, London alongside Alina Ibragimova. In 2015, she was one of the two soloists for Bach: Concerto for Two Violins for the Shipley Arts Festival, and was also invited to give two recitals in Ancona, Italy, as part of ZonaMusica Universal Musica concert series in Maiolati Spontini, and Incontri Musicali d’Estate at Istituto Campana in Osimo, Italy. Most recenty she performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Dorking Chamber Orchestra.

Coco has also performed at various Masterclasses given by Shmuel Ashkenasi, Zakhar Bron, Ida Haendel, Lewis Kaplan and Weidong Tong, all of whom gave her an enthusiastic praise, encouragement and guidance.

Simon Callaghan
Simon Callaghan performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, in parallel with a highly successful career as a recording artist. He appears regularly in the UK’s major concert halls, and on tours to Asia, North America and Europe. Callaghan’s recent release of Bennett Concertos with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Martin Yates was Gramophone Editors’ Choice, and received critical acclaim, notably from Presto Music: “his technique is seamless in its command, but always in service to the music so that the fireworks are integral to the musical communication rather than being the focus. It is his commitment to the substance of whatever he is playing that makes Callaghan a persuasive advocate of a wealth of under-appreciated repertoire”.

As concerto soloist, Simon Callaghan has recently collaborated with the Ulster Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Northern Sinfonia and the Sinfonieorchester St Gallen, with conductors including Jac van Steen, Martin Yates, Modestas Pitrėnas and Martyn Brabbins. Recital partners have included Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Jack Liebeck, Coco Tomita, Nicholas Daniel, Julian Bliss, Adrian Brendel, Ben Goldscheider, Feng Ning, Raphael Wallfisch, Ruth Rogers, Samuel West, Prunella Scales and Timothy West. He is also a founding member of the London Piano Quartet, joining colleagues from the renowned Piatti Quartet to showcase the repertoire for piano quartet with a particular focus on revivifying works that have fallen into obscurity.

Simon Callaghan’s distinguished and eclectic discography includes recordings for Hyperion, Somm, Nimbus and Lyrita. He has a strong profile on BBC Radio 3 and on a variety of streaming platforms, his most recent single on Apple Music with Coco Tomita surpassed 1 million streams in its first month. He is a strong social media enthusiast, using it as a form of promotion for classical music in general but seeing it as a particular tool in his advocacy of the rare and unexplored.

Callaghan’s broad repertoire encompasses the standard works of the 19th and 20th centuries and increasingly concentrates on much that is little known, examples including Bernhard Scholz, Josef Rheinberger and Carl Reinecke. A cornerstone of Simon’s work is his commitment to British music, and he has an ongoing series on Lyrita, recording world premieres of British concertos with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Callaghan has also made first recordings of the complete piano music by Rebecca Clarke, George Dyson and William Busch. He has recorded four albums for Hyperion’s celebrated The Romantic Piano Concerto series. His first disc for Hyperion, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins, formed part of his PhD at the Royal Northern College of Music and was praised by BBC Radio 3’s Andrew McGregor: “I have nothing but praise for the performances... impressive pianism”.

In 2020, Simon recorded L’Histoire de Babar with actor Miriam Margolyes. The album received five stars from The Independent, reviewer Michael Church commenting that: “here, thanks to Harry Potter actor Miriam Margolyes’s artistry and Simon Callaghan’s excellent pianism, is Poulenc’s delightful musical response… It lasts just 30 minutes, but my god does it resonate.” Simon Callaghan’s reputation and experience in chamber music led to his appointment as Artistic Director at London’s celebrated Conway Hall, only the sixth incumbent since the founding of the Sunday Concerts series in 1887, and from October 2026 he is also Artistic Director of the Penkhull Festival of Music and Art in Stoke-on-Trent. He is Professor of Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music, and was elected a Steinway Artist in 2012.

Booklet for Origins