Born on November 23: Ludovico Einaudi, master of the piano

A bit like his compatriot Paolo Conte, the Italian pianist born in Turin in 1950 took his time to climb the ladder of fame.

You won't be surprised that his maternal grandfather played the piano professionally. His mother, herself an amateur musician, passed her love of great music on to him. On his father's side, we note a passion for literature (his father founded a publishing house) as well as a taste for "public affairs": his grandfather was President of the Italian Republic between 1948 and 1955. A family with diverse aspirations...

Ludovico preferred the famous Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan to his studies at Sciences Po (or their Italian equivalent), from which he graduated with a degree in composition. Logically, the musician chose to fill the pages with his own creations rather than interpret the works of the repertoire, even with mastery. 

After having composed for a few ballets as well as a work dedicated to the harp, he achieved his first great public success with "Le onde" in 1996 for solo piano. Subsequently, he would embellish his often instantly memorable piano flights with cello, strings and sometimes even kora.

Of course, Ludovico Einaudi has also composed an impressive number of film scores for Italian cinema of course, but also, for example, for "Intouchables" directed by Eric Toledo and Olivier Nakache in 2011.

Just like Michael Nyman and Reyn, like Nicola Piovani (responsible for the soundtrack of "La vie est belle" in 1998) and Sofiane Pamart (who got together with Arno in the autumn of his life), Ludovico Einaudi dusts off classical music and doesn't hesitate to play in open-air festivals in front of a lay audience. He also likes venues with impeccable acoustics. Until mid-December, after a short European tour, he will thus enjoy a residency and fifteen performances in the intimacy of the Teatro del Verme in Milan.

(Stéphane Soupart - Trad.: Melissa Hekkers - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Ludovico Einaudi at the Gent Jazz festival (Belgium) on July 10, 2023