Tag: ludovico einaudi

This only works for half the world

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Much like “World Tours” which don’t really take in much of the world, you only really begin to understand just how Northern Hemisphere-centric the world’s media is when you come to live down on the bottom half of the planet.

And yes, I get it. With somewhere between 87 and 90% of the world’s population up there, and “much less” of it down here, it does make sense. But we do still exist.

Here’s a message, ostensibly from popular composer Ludovico Einaudi, which I received via email this morning:

OK. There are a few points here. But let’s start with the elephant in the message:
I’m in South Africa. The days are not getting brighter. That’s not how things work in March down here.
Quite the opposite, in fact. The nights are closing in and I woke up (almost) in darkness this morning.
(Although that said, it’s going to be 27oC tomorrow and over the weekend, and my brother is currently covered in snow in Derbyshire. There are levels here.)

However, given that autumn officially started 4 days ago, they’ve managed to somehow be correct on their “Summer gets ever closer” line. I think that was more by luck than by judgement, but that’s just my supposition, and technically, they’re right.

They do finish that sentence off with a question though, and I feel that it deserves a question mark, rather than a full stop. They’re not ok on that one?

Either way though, it’s not a bad way to spend an hour or so this afternoon – whatever the weather, the hours of daylight, and the relative proximity of the warmer seasons – and I’ve been tempted into it.

Give it a go on that link just there [finger points upwards].

Solo Piano

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A compilation of Solo Piano pieces by Ludovico Einaudi. Available to stream, buy on CD(!), several different types of vinyl, or even as sheet music. 17 tracks that between them have amassed well over a billion listens on Spotify alone.

And, given that he’s written a lot more than 17 tracks – a video with a bit of detail telling us how and why he chose the music that he did for this album.

Mmm. WordPress still not quite up to speed with sizing Youtube Shorts.

Anyway, it looks like a stress free weekend now that I have 77 minutes of Einaudi to keep me company.

Pathos

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Pathos:

Ludovico Einaudi announced his 2025 album The Summer Portraits back in early October last year. And as an artist who has released many new-age, modern classical albums, it’s clear that he had read the room with this particular track from the release.

The album was written in summer in Italy, and while The Summer Portraits is generally uplifting, and tries to pull the listener out of the doldrums…

The new project is inspired partially by the musician’s childhood in Torino. “I always considered Torino a place I would never go back to live. It was very grey, very industrial – I felt like I was in a cage,” Einaudi says in a press statement. “It’s a strange place, very poetic in a way. The soul of the people is more hidden. They don’t show things off – you have to find the dynamism inside yourself…”

…Pathos very much acknowledges the starting place of that journey.

And that follows along with the findings of the World Happiness Report, which came out at the end of the last month. People are generally less happy. This snapshot was taken just before November last year (before the US Election), and the US (24) and the UK (23) were already at their lowest ever positions.

This graph shows a very basic “Life Evaluation” perception score for a few nations, where 10 is the best that your life could be, and 0 is the worst. I’ve included the score for Finland and Afghanistan – the top and bottom rated countries in the study.

I’ve also included Ukraine, who are just behind SA, despite having their country invaded by the murderous forces of a despotic, nuclear-capable regime right on their doorstep.

We don’t have the same issue with Botswana.

Yet.

It will be interesting, given the… er… somewhat “extreme” new US government and its wide-reaching policies, what next year’s results will look like.

Assuming we’re still here, of course.

So much new music

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I know, I know. Most of you have stopped reading already. My eclectic musical tastes often mean that no-one is satisfied and everyone goes away metaphorically empty-handed (and usually quite quickly, too).

Mind you, given the state of the world (as documented here and here), who would deny me a bit of delicious escapism? Surely not you, dear reader.

But let’s run through what has happened recently, and what is going to happen presently, because I feel that last year was a bit sparse as far as good releases went. That’s not to say that there weren’t some very good releases – I mean, of course there were – but the quality far outweighed the quantity, and I’d actually like a bit of both, please.

Great news. 2025 has started well (IMHO).

First of all, the stuff that’s already out:

January began with a confusingly really laid back, electronic bang. Magne Furuholmen (you may remember him as the keyboard player from a-ha, and also from Apparatjik) gave us another solo offering: living with ourselves.

Here’s a live version of white horses from the album:

To be fair, I’m actually not sure that this is a good representation of the overall feel of the album. I’d say that time is on your side gives a better idea of the rest of the tracks. I still quite like it, though.

And then: Ludovico Einaudi’s The Summer Portraits is a very welcome return to basics from the Italian neoclassical composer and Pianist. Sure, a few edgy strings to keep your guard up, but alongside some beautiful smooth, relaxing piano. It calms me in the traffic, and that’s a good thing for everyone except my cardiologist.


Sequence would be – and indeed, is – my track of choice.

And from the sublime to the… also sublime(?) – Mogwai’s new album – The Bad Fire – is also out now. I’ve yet to really work my way through it, but already, it’s typically dark, grumpy and rumbling. However, somehow there’s a bit of an electronic element to it which has got me more interested than usual. Give their current single Fanzine Made of Flesh (great name) a go.

And then, can I mention (again) my excitement at the upcoming albums from three of my top 10 bands:

Manic Street Preachers – Critical Thinking is out next Friday (14th February).

Doves – Constellations For The Lonely is released on the 28th February. You may remember this from them at the end of last year. And their latest single Cold Dreaming has really whetted my appetite. (OMG – 0:58 in… SOOO Doves!!!)

Following those… The Lathums. Matter Does Not Define comes out on 7th March. And the first three from that album (including this) have sounded very promising.

What have I done to deserve this? Because honestly, it does feel a bit like I am being spoiled.
Or maybe, somehow musically “fattened up” for slaughter.

I’m not actually sure how that would work.
And I don’t really fancy finding out.

But what a three week spell this promises to be. Hardly enough time to gorge oneself on one album before the next banger arrives. And even when all is said and done for this lot, we’re not even a quarter of the way into the year.

Treats galore.

Walk

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A new – well, new to me – version of one of my favourite Ludovico Einaudi tracks.

This is Walk. Something I am struggling with a bit at the moment.

This recorded live at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on December 2023.

Almost a bit jumbled and clumsy at the beginning, but when that cello kicks in… goosebumps.

I chose not to buy tickets for the upcoming Andrea Bocelli concert in Cape Town (citing musical differences and cashflow problems), but if this guy ever comes over, I’ll be right there.