The first album I bought by this wonderful man... the reason being it has almost exactly the same songs as his 'best of' piano book. These are songs that you will have in your head straight away... in fact, throughout Ludovico's albums we have a sense of familiarity, even on first listen. Maybe it taps into emotions that we remember from ages ago, or maybe he's just very good at what he does, but either way, you won't be satisfied by this album... you'll want more!
Tracklist-
CD1
Melodia Africana I (African melody 1) I Due Fiumi (The Two Rivers) In Un'Altra Vita (In Another Life) Stella Del mattino (Morning Star) I Giorni (The Days) Limbo La Nascita Delle Cose Segrete (Birth of a Secret) Bella Notte (Beautiul Night)
CD 2
Fuori Dalla Notte (Out of the Night) Al Di La Del Vetro (Through the Window) White Night La Linea Scura (The Dark Line) Giorni Dispari (Odd Days) Passaggio (Passage) Questa Notte (Tonight) Julia Lady Jane Fuori dal Mondo (Out of the World) Le Onde (The Waves)
The two discs are presented in a wonderful (but slightly thick) case that opens out, with wonderful colouring and what looks like in-depth sleeve notes - entirely in Italian! Not sure if this is my one or all of them, but I do believe the paragraph is on his web page in English.
The music itself has a great flow, and his playing just emanates emotion. Melodia Africana shows us his memories of Africa as wonderfully as Giorni Dispari empathises with us when we're having 'one of those days'. Whilst the pieces are wonderful in themselves, once you know the story behind the pieces thy are simply breathtaking.
Here's the difficult bit - Highlights of the CD's...
-Stella Del Mattino- A simple 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 with as much and as effective imagery as Le Onde... the left hand literally flows forward and fades into white froth as it breks, then slides back down to wash ashore again, and the spectacular right hand plays the cascading and catchy melody that anybody who's seen a certain advert will recognise and love.
Conclusion - I was tempted to rate the 'lyrics' on this album, even though it is solo piano, such is the imagery of these pieces. This is a great album to have in your collection, as unlike his 'Best Of' collection, Echoes, these are different performances and sometimes slightly different arrangements than the originals, but the loud applause (well deserved, might I add) makes it a difficult album to stick in the player and relax to, unless you plan on staying conscious and keeping a finger on the 'skip' button...
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