Experience Ludovico Piano
Sharyn Requena
After its premiere in Venice and the Golden Lion victory, Chlo Zhao's Nomadland has quickly become one of the most talked-about and most critically acclaimed films of 2020. Personally, I can't wait to watch the nomadic drama starring Frances McDormand, though I'm uncertain when the picture will be coming to Portugal. For the cinephiles of the USA, however, Nomadland is being theatrically released tomorrow, December 4th. If you feel safe enough to do so and it's playing nearby, you can venture into the cinema and experience Zhao's new film.
The Turin-born pianist and composer is classically trained, having studied in the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan. His career started in the realm of classical music, though, in the 80s, after conquering some success, Einaudi started to explore other kinds of melodic expression. Not only did he experiment with rock sounds and folk influence, but he also started developing music as part of a work of art rather than the end product all in itself. In other words, Einaudi began composing for the theatre and, later on, cinema and TV.
His career is quite eclectic and I've been a fan of him for some years, ever since I became obsessed with one of his best and most memorable works. "Experience", originally released in the 2013 album In a Time Lapse, is a lush piece of music. Both joyous and strangely sorrowful, it intoxicates the listener with a tempest of emotion that, instead of resolving itself in a triumphant finale, deflates into a whisper of broken dreams, a wistful cry of the piano.
That spellbinding sequence made me into an Einaudi fan for life and, since then, I've made sure to look for his music in and out of the screen. Still, focusing on cinema, there are many other places where the budding cinephile can encounter the melodies of this Italian master. There's the Black Swan trailer, for a mini-dose of musical ecstasy. If you want something more robust, may I recommend This Is England's marriage between instrumental score and 80s hits? Or, better yet, The Intouchables, where Einaudi cuts through the French movie's maudlin sentiment with his inebriating tunes.
To end this short reverie about Italian composers and great nomadic expectations, here's a link to the Spotify playlist of Nomadland's score. While it's hard to judge without seeing the film, how it marries the image, meshes with the narrative and themes, but it sure sounds like a masterful score. It may seem vaguely crass to bring up such matters, but it's important to note that Einaudi will be ineligible for the Oscar since he used tracks previously written for another album. Still, that doesn't curtail any of my enthusiasm for the film and its wondrous music.
Working stiff -- Their rules are inconsistent and weird. THE ARTIST uses a track from Herrmann in one major sequence, but it has mostly an original score beside it. ARRIVAL uses one Max Richter track in the prologue and epilogue in an otherwise original score and it was disqualified. I can't understand the Academy's music branch.
Working stiff -- Bource made use of a Hermann track in a pivotal moment of the film, but most of the score was original. With ARRIVAL, most of the score was original but there was a pre-existing Max Richter composition used in the prologue and epilogue. That was enough for AMPAS to disqualify the sci-fi movie. Honestly, I can never fully understand the Academy's music branch. Their criteria seem awfully inconsistent.
Definitely inconsistent, and infuriating. There are (at least) six tracks used in the The Artist that should have made it ineligible. (And Hermann's original Vertigo score was itself snubbed by the Academy.)
Ludovico Einaudi, born 23 November 1955, is a renowned pianist and composer. The Italian musician was born in Turin where his classical career began, before he moved on to create music for film with influences of pop, rock, and folk music.
Einaudi began his career performing classical music in the 1980s after training at the Conservatorio Verdi, when he began composing orchestral and classical pieces, before progressing to more main stream music heard in popular culture in the mid 80s. As well as piano, Einaudi also plays and composes for guitar, in which he in incredibly skilled and proficient. Although Einaudi is influenced by classical artists, his style is unique with the fusion of classical and popular music bridging the gap between the two genres, making his music extremely accessible to many types of listeners.
From his eclectic back catalogue, of tracks, he has won several awards, including Best Film Music at the Avingon Film Festical for his score Sotto Falso Nome, and Best Soundtrack at the Italian Music Awards for Luce Die Miei Occhi. His music has also appeared in popular culture worldwide, composing the trailer music for the movie Black Swan.
His album Le Onde written for piano and performed as a solo was the best selling album in the UK and Italy, sending Einaudi to success. Still producing charting music, his latest album In A Time Lapse has taken him on a giant US and Canadian tour, as well as landing him a slot at the prestigious iTunes festival.
The lights dimmed as he walked out on stage and the audience clapped politely. The famous and talented pianist began playing and a hushed silence fell over the crowd. The notes played out an emotional story that no one could ignore. It was like being rocked to sleep as a child, something was comforting and you knew you would always be safe in that moment. Not a single missed note, not a single look at the audience to confirm their reaction. Someone as talented as Ludovico Einaudi does not need reassurance, he is amazing.
As we sat there, looking ahead, not a dry eye in the house, my wife took my hand and held it. I could feel every second of our lives together rush through me in that moment as the somber tones of the piano flowed over us. I knew that that was the moment I would always remember no matter what happened to us. It is the moment I always go back to when I need to remember her face.
A bit disapointing was that in some pieced you could hear violins or drums that no one of the band was playing (though they did at other instances). So at times thete was a little too obviously the Synthetizer in chareg where perhaps rwal instruments could be used.
Scandalous was the leg space on the ranks. Some may know that in this multi-functional bull fighting arena this can be an issue, but I got there and had cramps afterwards just from avoiding as mch as possible knocking my knees into the people before me. And I am not too tall (1.85m). If I haf the energy I would probably try getting money bak from the organisers, because selling sears for 45eur without any indication that they are unsuitable for people taller than 1.70m is unethical, and greedy!!
Non mi ritengo un ascoltatore di bocca buona. Cerco qualunque musica, ma deve avere un'anima. E volendo essere severo devo dire che una parte della produzione di Einaudi non mi convince del tutto, suonando un po' troppo melodico ed orecchiabile per non sembrarmi "commerciale". Ieri sera all'Auditorium, temevo in fondo in fondo di trovarmi davanti alla kermesse della ormai-pop-star... Fortunatamente, aspettativa delusa ! Moltissimi pezzi che - perch nuovi o semplicemente per la mia ignoranza - escono totalmente dal temuto binario. Trame rarefatte, sequenze non banali, che richiedono attenzione assoluta. E una volta catturato, ti rapiscono e ti portano via. Ho "viaggiato", ad occhi chiusi, come non mi succedeva da tanto. E allora, Ludovico, RESPECT : all'apice della notoriet, capace di un colpo d'ala da Musicista vero, capace di girare le spalle alla via comoda e scontata. Mi inchino.
First half set aside just for Elements was a little lack-lustre. The staging was very minimal, I suppose to showcase the music, however Elements just isn't strong enough (in my opinion) to hold you captive on its own. In fact this was made even more difficult by the audience taking flash photography - as a 'millennial' I am baffled as to why people thought that was okay.
The second half was incredible and completely made up for the disappointing first. He did all the 'hits' and the staging became much more exciting. This half really showed off his ability to experiment with instruments and create sounds that transport you to a place away from the concert hall. By the end people were cheering him like he was a rock legend.
I was lucky enough to also attend Ludovico's concert last year at Blenheim Palace and I have to say - although the Royal Chelsea Hospital is obviously a very historic venue, it still suffers from aircraft noise - traffic noise is virtually undetectable unless you have sirens passing but it's still enough to detract from the beauty of Signori Einaudi's music.
An expensive evening, but well worth every penny! The man is a legend and I enjoyed the concert greatly. My wife, who knew nothing about his music, came away a fan! It was a scorching hot evening, but what a lovely outndoor venue at the Royal Chelsea Hospital. A lot of thought had obviously gone into the catering and planning for the evening.
Only 2 small quibbles: the start time seemed to be very vague and I had heard, 7pm, 7.30pm and 8pm. It actually started at 8pm. There was no interval and it was rather annoying to have people wandering around to get refreshments, etc, while the concert was going on.
An unforgettable experience! Though I prefer smaller venues of his past shows compared to gaguntum that is Sony Centre, the sold out crowd was a testament to the reach of his genius and the demand for such musical style.
Live music always sounds better than the album or on-air. And to witness your favourite living composer live is nothing short of magical. There are melodies linked to people and memories in my life and this night so many moments flashed before my eyes. I smiled, I cried. I pondered abot music's beautiful ability to cross human boundaries and tensions without uttering a single word. Thank you Ludo!
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