Juan Sánchez is a composer with the talent and grace to evoke listener’s deepest emotions. He puts this gift to good use on “Very Young Old Man” in which he pays tribute to the man who shaped his musicianship. Sánchez had attempted music school before but found it to be stale and formulaic, so he left in search of a teacher who could be a true inspiration. Enric Torra Pòrtulas proved to be just that man.
Under the tutelage of Pòrtulas, Sánchez received the musical education he so desperately needed. “I was so lucky to find him,” he explains. “I was 20 years old and he was 80 years old. I was amazed, as I’d never seen so much energy and enthusiasm in a person of his age. He loved teaching piano, anyone could see that immediately.”
During the five years they studied together, Sánchez learned the music of the great masters – Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, but the most important thing he took away from his lessons was his teacher’s undying love for music. Their lessons, scheduled to be sixty minutes long, would regularly go multiple hours, as they both were so absorbed by the music they were making together. During this time Sánchez truly discovered himself as a musician, finding his own individual voice as a composer.
“Enric Torra was an elderly man with a young spirit. He was a ‘Very Young Old Man,’ Sánchez says, explaining the composition’s beautiful title. “This composition is dedicated to him. Enric Torra passed away on August 4th, 2003. He was 93 years old. I will never forget him.”
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