#90seconds (6) - Family time

The Matangis have started a new initiative: #90seconds.
Matangi seeks deepening and artistic interpretation of online artistry in these times of isolation and loneliness.

Based on Helmut Krausser's novel Melodien, Matangi is looking for the secret melodies with mysterious healing powers which are believed to be lost. Composers from all over the world participate in this quest and compose a 90-second melody for string quartet. (read more)

Last Tuesday we have had the privilege to extend our #90Seconds project with a flood of new compositions and of course we’ve recorded this with audio and visuals in the gorgeous church of Beets. The last time we’ve recorded 4 pieces, this time we’ve even recorded 11 pieces!

Even though they’re short pieces, it requires a lot of effort. All those pieces are so diverse and so different from each other, so it takes some time to switch from one piece to another. You have to check the tempo (of course it has to fit within 1,5 minute!) and we play it once for the men and women of the audio and visuals, so they get an overview of the piece. Then we play it a couple of times ‘for real’, so there will be a couple of possibilities to select from. A day like this is real top sport and we use the lunchtime to regain our strength. It should not go unmentioned that the soup from our hostess was extremely delicious. Happily surprised we were, but not that surprised, because the food is always exquisite. It shows that self study at home, rehearsing all together and great food are the perfect ingredients to get through a recording day like this.

In an ideal world there would be loads of time for self study. However, in an ideal world there wouldn’t be Corona. Everybody is experiencing the consequences of this and so does my wife who’s a freelance violinist in European orchestras. She’s a phenomenal violinist, but she went from a fully booked schedule to nothing! Since it’s not clear yet for how long this situation will last, she went looking for a temporary job during the summer months. She has always been my lifesaver, but now she can officially fulfill this task at the emergency hotline of the foreign roadside assistance. After a very intensive course of a month, she can now use her talent to talk a lot while helping other people!

Her absence gives me the possibility to spend a lot of time with our children, Isabel, 3 years old and Carlos, 1 year old and it makes me realize that they are smart, funny and very special. Of course the same things can be said for my wife! All this marvelous family time does reduce the time to practice for myself. In between dress-up parties with my daughter and dirty diapers from my son, I can’t find the time to give my violin the attention that it deserves, which means that the evenings are basically the only possibility to practice; when the kids are dreaming and making wanton plans on how to find the limits of daddy’s patience and make him count to 10 the next day. Strangely enough I find myself most of the times counting until #90Seconds…

Daniel Torrico

(watch the #90seconds videos here)
(read the other blogposts here)