The auditorium of the college of music at Mahidol University welcomed pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi on Monday, May 2nd.
In attendance was the Italian ambassador to Thailand and his wife along with other dignitaries, fans and students.
Ludovico studied piano and composition at the Milan conservatory at the tender age of fifteen, he then went on to study with the avant-garde composer Luciano Berio, after which he experimented with different styles and genres before finally finding his own voice.
Master composer Ludovico Einaudi.
His work today is enjoyed by people across the globe, with him playing in some of the greatest concert halls and selling over 750,000 chart topping albums; from his first work in 1997, which was an electric harp suite entitled ‘Stanze’, through multi-instrument pieces and soundtrack to his latest piece entitled ‘Nightbook’ in 2009
Ludovico’s music merges so many styles and his travels have introduced him to new cultures which in turn have influenced his music.
Ludovico Einaudi, right, talks to Paul Strachan during an interview for Pattaya Mail Television.
His music is so gentle, emotive and yet powerful and people have a tendency to try to pigeon hole and categorize musicians and composers and the natural assumption is to allocate composers into the classical category.
Prior to the concert at Mahidol University I was given the opportunity to interview him for Pattaya Mail Television, where I asked him about his influences and experiences that have helped shape his music. He explained that he likes to travel and avail himself to music that wouldn’t normally be accessible to him; this could be in Mali when he was on holiday or whilst touring in Japan and China.
I also tackled the subject of defining his music at which he said that of course it was easy to label his music as classical as it involves solo piano, yet if the listener paid close attention they would perceive many different styles, some of which were quite modern yet played on an instrument that had been around for a very long time. In the end I suggested to Ludovico that as long as his music continues to be identified with by his massive audience then perhaps no label is required, to which he seemed to agree.
Einaudi plays one of his pieces at Mahidol University, Monday, May 2.
The concert itself was a low key affair with the audience sitting in perfect silence savoring every note played by the maestro. He started with several pieces from his acclaimed album “Divenire” after which he took time to explain to the audience that he spent some time in the Dolomites watching the ever changing scenery and the way light manipulated the depths and shadows of the landscape and that this was his inspiration for these pieces.
He continued with more works from “Divenire” then moved onto music from “Nightbook”, which takes Ludovicos music into a different field – the original CD comprises of percussion and orchestra which accompany Ludovico’s piano, however on the night with just Ludovico on stage you could almost hear the ghosts of the other musicians on stage with him.
The overriding force of Ludovico’s music is the almost hypnotic quality to it which is interspersed with finely measured moments of silence, where those pauses give the audience a moment to reflect, breathe and absorb the message within the music, whatever that may be to them.
The college of music at Mahidol University has many concerts coming up, you can find out more about them online at : http://www.music.mahidol.ac.th/.
