Ludovico Einaudi at the Royal Albert Hall
Ludovico Einaudi is back in town, this time with five dates (plus one) at the Royal Albert Hall – the longest consecutive run for a classical pianist at the venue – most of which sold out quickly after tickets went on sale. The London stop of the Summer Portraits Tour is inevitably a poignant one, because of the setlist – “a mix of feelings and emotions”, as the composer himself describes it – the audience’s resonance with the music, and the ever-grandiose ambience of the hall. There’s no set formula for why certain kinds of music succeed. In Einaudi’s case, the most captivating element is undeniably his crescendos: the building of compositions, not as a standard addition of instruments and upwards layering, but rather a clever and smooth sequences of piano solos, instrumental duets, then strings, a fierce or quiet dialogue, with a wave of enthusiastic tuning in, tiny interludes, and without even noticing, the piece has reached a vibrant climax.
In this tour, he is joined by a full orchestra, including Federico Mecozzi on the violin, Redi Hasa on the cello, Rocco Nigro on the accordion (the three of them, longstanding accompaniment of the Maestro, in front row without music sheets), together with Francesco Arcuri on percussions, alongside the Rimini Classica String Ensemble.
The first part of the concert abounds with pieces from the latest album released at the beginning of the year, Summer Portraits. The tracks from this record are scattered with sounds mimicking nature, such as a dainty dripping in the woods, the wailing of marine animals or some distant echoes, all reproduced by the classic instruments on stage. It’s not D’Annunzio’s peaceful forest, but a vivid and powerful spectacle the audience is enveloped in. At times, the register aligns with the religious, like for Episode One, with shadowed counterpoints between the piano and the cello. The night subtly opens with Rose Bay, with the strings leading to an evanescent sunrise on To Be Sun. The incessant fluidity of the keys in Fly is hypnotic, drawing in notes an immersion of water and music, until the almost searing entrance of the violins.
I Giorni receives an orchestra treatment, before the full force of Eros from the album Nightbook – underlined by intense red lights as the whole production by the hand of lighting designer Francesco Trambaioli – comes in. For this piece, the instruments are pushed to explore low depth, a rich texture for a pulsing pace that is at the same time daunting and soul-stirring. The ending – and this goes for the majority of the works executed – is regularly abrupt, or rather, holds an immediate suspension of play to leave the concertgoers with heart and ears at that last vibrato. The programme moves to Una Mattina and Nuvole Bianche, before another jump to Summer Portraits, with Maria Callas and the airy Pathos, a soaring soundscape elevating the strings to protagonist and cathartic leads.
The final segment could have been a show in itself: Divenire, Experience and an encore of The Tower. From the gentle opening notes of the 2006 album title track, the performance moved into an extended rendition of Experience – allowing time for a final standing ovation and a curtain call for the orchestra – before concluding with the spine-tingling architecture of The Tower, distilled through xylophone, guitar and drum.
Cristiana Ferrauti
Photos: Andy Paradise @paradiseph0t0
For further information and future events, visit Ludovico Einaudi’s website here.
Watch the video for Pathos here:
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