walking with Viola Torros
May 24, 2021 In September 2020 I came to Auckland, NZ with my partner, who grew up here. Then a few months ago I began playing with the violinist and composer Johnny Chang, who also moved back here after living in Berlin for 11 years. Recently Johnny suggested we take a look at some of Catherine Lamb's music. He and Cat played a bunch together while in Germany, and recorded an album of music by the "late Vedic" composer, Viola Torros . Here are a few scattered thoughts on the Viola Torros album, which I've been somewhat obsessively listening to. It's a long album: three 40-minute tracks, another half-hour track, and a fifth clocking in at 14 minutes. It's become something of a companion for me on my regular evening walks along the Hauraki Gulf coast, the feature sight of which is Rangi toto Island: a volcano that erupted around 600 years ago. A few weeks ago while I was playing violin in the APO I was talking to a friend of Johnny's...