Eden Roc/I Giorni/Le Onde/Stanze (4CD Collection) - Ludovico Einaudi

Advantages: The best of Ludovico's originality and unclassifiable style
Disadvantages: applause is much louder than piano

...and beautiful piece of music, from the serene opening into the jovial second section and back and forth. Catchy! -Bella Notte- The piece that got me into Einaudi, Bella Notte sets the scene with a delicate intro, before rocketing into the fast-paced but ultimately beautiful-sounding first section, and then after a dramatic stop he begins to play a quiet and utterly 'bella' second section. -Giorni Dispari- Even without the strings that accompany it on Eden Roc, this piece is powerful and effective. Play this on a bad day and you can almost literally feel the tension and negativity, but at the same time there is such a comforting empathy... -Lady jane- Yes, the Rolling Stones song! I have never heard the original, but this is a wonderful interpretation and, I imagine, a refreshing view on this song! -Le Onde- I haven't heard a piece of music... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Beautiful & emotional piano music
Disadvantages: Is only a selection of works.

...and moody piece is the first element of change on the CD, first the fact that it's a string quartet with the piano over the top. The strings add a raw passion to a more lyrical piano tune, an obvious contrast to the repetitive, hypnotic feel of the first 2 tracks. Hauntingly beautiful. 4. The Days (I Giorni) I don't know why, but this piece doesn't really do anything for me. It's following the rhythmic but with variation theme, but it doesn't have much of an impact as tracks 1 and 2 do. I feel though, this may be due to it's positioning on the CD; the contrasts are too great. 5. The Dark Line (La Linea Scura) It says in the CD insert that this piece is inscribed the sea, and I feel that you get a sense of it as soon as the piano keys make a sound. Einaudi plays on the solo piano, a flowing repeated bit, which to me reflects the wave... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Stunningly beautiful, evocative piano music
Disadvantages: None

...Firstly apologies on Ciao's behalf for the spelling mistake - it should read LUDOVICO Einaudi. You may already be familiar with Le Onde, even if you don't realise it. Remember that wonderful piano music on the advert for the John Lewis Autumn collection? It sounded like a musical version of a wave, rising and falling, louder and quieter. It was shown last year and I did see it a couple of times this year too. Well that music was the key theme of Le Onde – which means ‘The Wave’ in Italian. I first heard Le Onde a few years ago on the Classic FM 3CD compilation set, Time to Relax. (Track 4 Disc 1). It had an immediate effect on me – it was so beautiful and evocative – I had to know who it was by and where I could hear more. After a little research I found that the excerpt on the Classic FM CD was from a whole CD of solo piano pieces... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful