Artist: Ludovico Einaudi
Date: 31/07/2019
Location: Barbican
Concert
Having grown up playing the piano, opening one of Einaudi’s music books would lead to a relaxing afternoon of accessible music without too much concentration. Hence, seeing the man who has become known worldwide for his minimalist transcendental music was a true experience to value.
I felt fully immersed in the event, helping out with guest list prior to the concert and then attending the concert afterwards. Not only did this show me two different sides of the process but enabled me to see the logistics of running such an event. Equally, discussing the policy regarding ticketing and ID made me aware of the value of tickets and the risk of fraudulent sites in this day and age for those willing to pay anything to attend.
Returning back to the main part of the evening itself, I settled into my seat in the stalls with a near-perfect view of the entire stage. Part of his new 7 album series ‘Seven Days Walking’, the concert involved clever visuals which complemented the music. For Einaudi, a man of very few words it seems in this concert performance, a tranquil ambience was evoked through the music which lulled you into a sense of calm. The visuals aided to stimulate and provided further animation to the piece. This lack of speech and to an extent pomp and circumstance was interesting considering Einaudi falls into the category of a classical composer; the format is often more formal with greater introduction and presentation. Instead Einaudi arrived, sat down and consequently played for the following hours without an interval.
Given this was the first show – and with a touring company bringing its own equipment – slight problems may arise. There was in fact a slight technical hitch leading to an impromptu acoustic set and blip in the visual presentation. However, this did not detract from the performance and when discussing this the following day at the Barbican, it reminded me that even the most famous musicians face technical difficulties that must be ironed out with further technical rehearsals.
Reflection on my own work
When the standing ovation continued for minutes on end, I realised the renown Einaudi had reached through his music which isn’t overly challenging or complex. Here simplicity overruled through it’s emotive capacity. In terms of my creative process with music, it is interesting to see the effect of making music more accessible and varying it through different textures, with the addition of the strings creating a richer timbre.
From a production perspective, I realise the power of multi-disciplines in a show fusing audio and visual to add more layers to the experience. In future projects, this would be something to gain more experience in regarding collaboration and implementing projections to add to the show.
Finally, from a live perspective, this provided a realisation that if things go wrong, seek the root of the problem, solve it and move on. An important reminder that things don’t always go perfectly to plan, but the audience is often much less aware of this than you think…
Finola Music 