Pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi was born in Turin on November 23, 1955. His mother, also a pianist, would play for him as a young child, planting the seeds for what would become a fruitful, illustrious career. Einaudi studied under Luciano Berio at the Conservatory of Milan, graduating with a diploma in composition. In 1982, his talents would win him a scholarship to the Tanglewood Music Festival. The experience opened Einaudi's ears to new ideas like minimalism, world music influences, and aspects of pop music. He spent the next several years composing for the ballet, including Sul Filo d'Orfeo (1984), Time-Out (1988), and The Wild Man (1991). Einaudi turned a corner in 1996 with the release of his first collection of solo performances, entitled Le Onde. This record started Einaudi down the path toward becoming one of Europe's best-selling pianist/composers. Eden Roc (1999) and I Giorni (2001), both for BMG, captured the solo piano world's attention, both remaining best-sellers for years to come.
While seemingly at the top of the composition world, Einaudi ventured into film composition, a journey punctuated by his Best Film Score award in 2002 for his work on Luce dei Miei Occhi. Einaudi noted in interviews during this period that he missed concertizing, and began performing again regularly. New works blossomed from this effort, including 2004's Una Mattina and 2006's Diario Mali. Einaudi's seventh studio album, 2007's Divenire, found him accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The follow-up, 2009's Nightbook, was much more self-consciously reductionist, featuring solo piano minimally adorned with electronics, and saw Einaudi begin to be appreciated by fans of the "post-classical" school that he had arguably, at least in part, inspired.
A double-disc best-of, Islands, was released in 2011, and at the beginning of 2013 he signed a new deal with Decca and unveiled the long-gestating In a Time Lapse, which had been recorded in a remote monastery near Verona and saw a return to a more "classical" chamber music sound. Elements was released in 2015, and featured violinist Daniel Hope, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, electronica artist Robert Lippok, and Brazilian percussionist Mauro Refosco among its several guest performers. Recorded at his home studio in Italy, it was inspired by nature, math, science, music, art, and how parts connect to form a whole.
In 2019, Einaudi unveiled Seven Days Walking, his most ambitious musical project to date, consisting of seven volumes to be released over the course of seven months, with a box set containing all seven releases in the fall. Inspired by winter walks taken in the Alps, it was a meditative, sometimes melancholy journey featuring multiple variations on the same themes, which saw him accompanied by a string trio. Recorded at his home in Italy during the COVID-19 lockdown, Einaudi released the aptly named 12 Songs from Home in 2020, followed by a rarities collection, Einaudi Undiscovered, later in the year. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi
