Free ticket registration: http://bit.ly/1uAXQUYLuminous, emotive, effortlessly lyrical and always supremely refined the music
and performance of Ludovico Einaudi have attracted an ever growing
audience over the last two decades whose diversity and devotion are
without parallel. He has released a series of chart-topping albums ,
sells out the most prestigious concert halls worldwide, composed a
string of award-winning film scores and routinely tops audience polls
becoming an internet phenomenon. With a unique musical alchemy that
draws on elements of classical, rock, electronica and world musics he
has rendered traditional ideas of genre and audience divide obsolete and
become not only one of the best known composers in the world today but
almost certainly the best loved too.Ludovico was born in Turin, Italy and trained as a classical composer and pianist at the MilanConservatorio
before continuing his studies with Luciano Berio, one of the most
important composers of the twentieth century avant-garde. His career
began with a series of prestigious commissions for institutions such as
the USA’s Tanglewood Festival, Paris’ IRCAM and recently the National
Center of Performing Arts of Beijing , but he turned away from what
seemed a glittering classical career to forge his own musical path,
giving him the freedom to reconcile his wider-ranging influences.It
was a bold strategy but one quickly rewarded, when Ludovico’s electric
harp suite ‘Stanze’ (1997) was first played on BBC Radio the switchboard
jammed with listeners. It was a similar story with his next release ‘Le
Onde’ (1998), a solo piano cycle he performed himself. A
listener-organised campaign made it Ludovico’s breakthrough and a
permanent fixture atop the Classic FM charts. This upswell of grass
roots activity, snowballing with the onset of the internet and social
media, has allowed Ludovico to build a uniquely close relationship
directly with his audience.‘Le Onde’ also ignited Ludovico’s
career in Film & TV music and he has since composed many
awardwinning scores including ‘Doctor Zhivago’ (2002) and ‘Sotto Falso
Nome’ (2004) which also became successful albums in their own right. In
recent years Shane Meadows’ acclaimed film ‘This Is England’ (2006) and
its television sequel ‘This Is England ‘86’ (2010) have brought a BAFTA
nomination for Ludovico and introduced his music to a huge new audience.
In 2011 another acclaimed film used his music: “ Intouchables” by
Olivier Nakache and Eric Soledano. The film has been voted as the
cultural event of 2011 in France and it has been submitted for the 85th
Academy Award.Ludovico built on the impact of ‘Le Onde’ with a series of albums notable for their exuberantexperimentation.
‘Eden Roc’ (1999) saw an array of guest musicians and instruments
ranging from electric guitar to the Armenian duduk. ‘I Giorni’ (2001)
deepened this engagement with world music in Ludovico’s second
collection for solo piano. His ‘best of’ collection from these first
four albums ‘Echoes: The Einaudi Collection’ (2003) has since gone to
sell more than 100,000 copies.As Ludovico’s fame grew, his
concert schedule naturally grew along with it and became an increasingly
important part of his life. It immediately led to two new albums,
Diario Mali (2005), a collaboration with kora virtuoso Ballaké Sissoko
and his first live solo album ‘La Scala Concert 03.03.03’ (2003),
recorded in his adopted city of Milan.The release of ‘Una
Mattina’ (2004) saw more ‘firsts’, it was Ludovico’s debut album on new
and current record label Universal and also his most ‘classical’ to
date. Largely written for solo piano, it leapt to the top of the UK
Classical album chart and gave him his first sold-out UK tour.Now
one of the most popular composers in the UK and throughout Europe, at
home Ludovico’s reputation scaled even loftier heights and thus on May
26th, 2005 in Rome, Ludovico Einaudi was awarded the ‘Ordine al Merito
della Repubblica Italiana’ (or ‘OMRI’) the senior order of Knighthood
bestowed by the Italian Republic.The stage was set for ‘Divenire’ (2007) his most musically ambitious album yet and his greatestcommercial
success to date. ‘Divenire’ gathered many of the musical ‘streams’ that
had flowed through Ludovico’s career and expanded on them with the help
of The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and a battery of digital
effects.On release it became a phenomenon, topping classical
charts throughout Europe and crashing the Italian pop charts. With sales
in excess of 300,000 copies and a BRIT awards ‘Album of the Year’
nomination, Ludovico embarked on his biggest tour yet, 80 dates across
Europe. One was captured for his second live album ‘Live In Berlin’
(2008) and it all culminated at a memorable concert at London’s Royal
Albert Hall.With people around the globe now clamoring to see
him Ludovico became a permanent fixture on the road, traveling to new
audiences in India, Japan and the USA. Along the way he formed a
collaboration with Robert Lippock of post-rock band ‘To Rococo Rot’ and
the results would be heard in two albums released in 2009, one featuring
Ludovico as ‘band member’, the other as a solo artist.First was
‘Cloudland’ (2009) the debut from ‘Whitetree’ – comprising Ludovico on
piano, Robert Lippok on electronics, and Robert’s brother Ronald Lippok
on drums – which has a sunny African feel amid the cutting-edge
electronics and percussion.‘Nightbook’ (2009) Ludovico’s seventh
solo album was a perfect contrast. Meditative and introspective it
charts an inward voyage through dreams and the shadows of the psyche
with evocative use of electronics. Ludovico calls it his ‘Dark Side of
The Moon’ and though challenging it too found immediate resonance with
his audience who once again took Ludovico to the summit of the charts
and back into the concert halls.The ‘Nightbook’ tour produced
‘The Royal Albert Hall Concert’ (2010) a double CD and DVD documenting
Ludovico’s concert at the venue in March 2010. Drawing on every part of a
now distinguished career, it shows a composer and performer at the very
height of his creative powers.In 2010 and 2010 he has been
invited to conduct the “Concertone” of the Festival La Notte della
Taranta in the Puglia region where more than 100,000 people danced the
whole night away . A succesful tour also followed which included two
sold out in London at Barbican. The music has its roots in the wild
dances that were meant to ward off the effects of a tarantula bite, and
Ludovico’s La Notte della TarantaOrchestra combines singers,
mandolin, virtuoso tambourines, percussion, accordion, strings, organ
and guitar in a mad profusion of exuberant music. Einaudi has refreshed
the tradition by rearranging the old songs, writing new music, and
inviting international guests such as The Turkish multi-instrumentalist
and DJ Mercan Dede, the greel singer Savina Yannatou , Ballake Sissoko
the Malian kora player and the Guitarrist/composer Justin Adams and the
Gambian griot Juldeh Camara.In 2011 the collection “Island”
which includes also some unpublished works reached a terrific success.
The tour in the same year brought him also touring in Asia where he
performed in a series of sold out concerts in Japan, Thailand , Vietnam,
and twice in China.Other Highlights of his activity in 2012 include: a performance at BT River of Music in July , anacclaimed
tribute to Luciano Berio with his composition “The Elements” premiered
in Rome in September and his parecipation at the London Film Festival in
Oct 2012 playing at the projection of “This is England” with live
score. In November he has been awarded with the Premio Vittorio De Sica
from the President Giorgio Napolitano.“In a Time Lapse” is the new album recorded in October 2012 in a Monastery near Verona. The cd was released in January 2013.