Seeing as my last post was about Morning Tide I thought it would be best to give Ludovico Einaudi the floor as this piece is heavily inspired by his work.
I was first introduced to Einaudi by one of my piano teachers. She only taught me for a year before she went to university but she opened my eyes to neoclassicism and minimalism. I remember 2 pieces of music she gave me to work on. One was called "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" by Michael Nyman and the other was "Le Onde" by Einaudi. I loved playing both of these pieces so I started to look into the genre more.
I bought a copy of Einaudi's greatest hits. At the time he had only released his first four albums which were mainly solo piano pieces. Although I love his more famous works like "Nuvole Bianche", "Divenire" and "Experience", I first got hooked on playing "I Giorni" along with "Giorni Dispari" and "Fuori Dalla Notte".
I find his music very soothing but also melancholy yet uplifting. Sometimes sinister and haunting. What is always so impressive is his use of space. Notes are held for just the right length of time before moving forward with the music.
After picking up his album "Una Mattina" my tastes began to change again and his music took a back seat for a bit. I would still listen to the old albums and also some of his new works, but he had started to release instrumental works which I didn't appreciate as much at the time. I realise now that this was a mistake. My favourite 2 albums by Einaudi are now "Divernire" and "In a Time Lapse" which feature lots of strings along with synths.
Although I do love listening to most of his work I do have a favourite. the last track on "In a Time Lapse" is called "Burning". I don't know why but I adore this piece of music. When the strings first build in makes the hairs stand up for me. I always joke that this would be fitting for my funeral when the time comes if I get cremated (Yes, I like my humour dark!). But seriously, I really would have this piece played. It's hauntingly beautiful and I don't get bored of hearing it.
So, if you hear any of my tunes which have a simplistic open melody, you can bet that I've been listening to Einaudi recently. If you would like to listen to some of works which have been inspired by this Italian maestro please check out "Morning Tide", "Song For Grey Skies" and "The Last Leaf to Fall" to name a few. There are more you can find in my first 2 charity albums.
The teacher I mentioned in the opening paragraph, well, I can't remember her name now. The other 3 teachers I have had I can, but her musical direction clearly made the most impact on what I play and listen to these days, so thank you for introducing me to Ludovico and his repertoire of hits.
