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This week, I traveled from Zurich to Oslo to venture Underwater with Ludovico Einaudi. I had looked forward to this concert for months. And, in the weeks leading up to the event, I became quite neurotic. Attempting to avoid all contact with other human beings so as not to lose the opportunity to see him live due to coming down with Covid. I managed to stay healthy, and there I was, on April 11th, ready to be taken on a musical odyssey.
I first experienced Ludovico Einaudi live in 2018, in Macau. I had been a great admirer of his music for many years and when the chance presented itself to experience him on stage, I jumped at it.
He was on tour with a small band at the time. Because his Album Taranta Project involved multiple instruments.
The concert was a magical experience. I was especially impressed by Einaudi’s calm presence on stage. His focus was mesmerizing in its intensity. Einaudi and the piano seemed to become one. The music almost an entity in its own right.
Ever since then, I’ve kept an eye on Ludovico Einaudi’ website, trying to time my presence around the world with one of his concerts.
Then, finally, in December last year I bought a ticket for the start of Einaudi’s tour in his hometown Milano. But the Omicron variant of Covid struck. I never made it to Milano.
Sad, but not ready to give up, I checked the rest of his itinerary for the following year. 2022. That’s when I saw that Ludovico Einaudi was going to perform in Oslo only 2 days after my birthday.
What a perfect combination of exploring a country I had never been to before, as well as grabbing the opportunity to see Ludovico Einaudi live for a second time.
So, there I was last Monday, on April 11th. Excited like a little boy before Christmas. Literally bouncing up and down in my hotel room while getting ready.
I had scoped out where the Konserthus (concert house) is earlier in the day. I was already invigorated by all I had seen during my day trip around the Oslo fjord. And I was more than ready to conclude this special day with a deeply satisfying musical journey.
Walking into the Oslo Konserthus, I was impressed by the beauty of the modern venue. All glass and metal on the outside, it was designed with a contrasting, inviting, warm wooden interior.
It became immediately apparent that Ludovico Einaudi was touring on his own this time. The stage set up was simple: Four large spots pointed at the only other object on stage: Ludovico’s piano.
I was curious about the Oslo audience. Thus far, my first impression of the town’s inhabitants had been that of very calm, polite, and rather carefully reserved people. How would they react to music transporting them into another dimension?
When the house lights dimmed and Ludovico Einaudi walked on stage, he was greeted by respectful, lingering applause.
In his humble manner, he simply bowed for a moment then went to his piano and began to play.
What always strikes me when I listen to Ludovico Einaudi perform live is his courage for silence. His compositions are mostly soft-spoken to begin with. His music comes in waves. Often slowing down to only a few quiet notes to then come what seems like a complete stop.
After the melody trickles down in this manner, there is a long moment of silence which Einaudi holds for a few long seconds… before gently playing a first note again, to then slowly, consciously, reenter a flow he never truly left.
These pauses which are not really pauses are confusing for an audience which is waiting for a chance to show their appreciation. Yet somehow Einaudi’s body language as well as the lighting which stays in the same mode as long as he isn’t finished are enough to suggest to the audience to wait just that little bit longer.
When the piece truly comes to its end, the lighting state changes, and Ludovico Einaudi removes his hands from the keys. The audience takes the cue and fills the concert hall with thunderous applause.
This year, Einaudi is touring with his new Album Underwater. Only towards the very end of the concert does he play some of his older best-offs as well.
What happened to me during the concert, and to most of the audience as well, is hard to describe. There is this one man and his piano on a giant stage… effortlessly, yet so humbly filling it with his presence. He plays. The songs are flowing. Each with its unique current.
Letting myself become immersed in the musical universe Einaudi offers me, I do feel as if I am gliding underwater, riding the swells, currents, and eddies of his creation.
Only too soon, his performance comes to an end. And I wonder, “But it can’t have been much more than half an hour?” A quick glance at my watch – which I had totally forgotten about as the concept of time vanished – surprises me. Two hours have passed? How? Where has the time gone?
The calm Oslo audience has ceased being calm. People are literally jumping out of their seats. Standing ovation. Vigorous clapping. Ludovico Einaudi bows. He puts his hand on his heart. Looks almost shy as he does so. Then he leaves the stage.
No one sits down. No one stops clapping.
After what feels like an eternity, Einaudi comes back on stage. He stands next to his piano, bowing his head, firmly putting his hand over his heart again.
Then he sits down at his piano. The entire sold-out auditorium follows his lead as people are reclaiming their seats with elation.
Ludovico Einaudi finishes the evening with two older pieces which are well known.
When he concludes and stands up from the piano once more, a last time, the audience jumps to their feet yet again for a second standing ovation.
It is palpable in the air. Everyone has been mesmerized. They have taken a journey which has taken them far into themselves whilst at the same time allowing them to immerse themselves into a collective, magical Underwater experience.
As we leave the Konserthus that evening, many of us are still in the flow. Not quite on this Earth. Not quite on solid ground. But rather in a universe where everything seems to be poetically enhanced, in a most gentle manner.
Official website Ludovico Einaudi
Ludovico Einaudi – “Elegy for the Arctic” – Official Live (Greenpeace) on YouTube
Ludovico Einaudi, Composer and Pianist, on World Tour
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Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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