Ludovico Einaudi - Music Review in Bristol
Posted on: 2016-03-10
Our rating:
Intermittent projections of abstract images and stark, alternating coloured lighting only added greater, more palpable grandeur, scope and spectacle to a concert that adroitly weaved its magical musical carpet across an aural kaleidoscope.
Italian maestro Ludovico Einaudi enchanted and thrilled his Bristol audience with a sublime, captivating set of compositions when he performed at the Colston Hall on Wednesday 9 March 2016.
Regarded as one of the leading contemporary exponents of alt-classical, ambient and minimalism, it's true that the composer/pianist's style occasionally bares similarities to the likes of other modern musical behemoths such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Michael Nyman. But his sound is one that is indisputably Einaudi, fusing all those genres like a masterful, omnipotent musical necromancer and making them distinctly, uniquely his own.
It's no small wonder that his albums - Echoes, In a Time Lapse and Islands - have topped the charts in the UK and Europe and that Einaudi has amassed a huge, loyal fanbase (myself included). No surprise either that, his music often invoking a naturally filmic quality, he's written for films and TV, including a BATFA-nominated score for This is England '86.
His visit to the Colston Hall was part of a UK tour following the release of his latest album, Elements. Inspired by nature, mathematics, works of art and various musical forms, the first half of the concert featured selections from that album. From the concert's opening impending bass notes as the performers walked on stage to the eventual culmination of pulsating musical sturm and drang, the atmosphere was electric and everyone knew they were in for an unforgettable evening.
Sat at the piano with his back to the audience and flanked by five musicians covering violin, cello, guitars, percussion and electronics, Einaudi has this time dipped his toes into more experimental musical waters. Sure, his trademark plaintive, almost lullaby-esque pianistic renderings are present throughout, but they were counteracted with more pounding, driving, even dissonant musical textures and rhythms. It lent a fresh, invigorating edge to the music, a style simultaneously familiar yet intriguingly, inspiringly new.
The second half took the audience on a musical journey through Einaudi's back catalogue: often simple motifs which are explored and developed, repeated oscillating patterns brimming with haunting, lyrical beauty, but contrasted with pieces of occasional thundering, insistent ferocity, frenetic outbursts, and protracted, heart-pounding bass hits. Yet there was still time to dabble in a spot of sonic, avant garde Brian Eno-esque mystery as well, the highlight of which saw the ensemble, lit against a spooky blue, ocean-like background, evoking the sounds of the sea utilizing several unorthodox instruments.
Intermittent projections of abstract images and stark, alternating coloured lighting only added greater, more palpable grandeur, scope and spectacle to a concert that adroitly weaved its magical musical carpet across an aural kaleidoscope that covered the musical gamut of intimate, poignant, tender, frenetic, intense, transcendent, haunting, dreamy, relentless and ethereal.
Of course, the audience weren't letting Einaudi and his troupe get away without performing an encore and, after reacting like a thrashing rock crowd with a deafening combo of cheering, foot stomping and wolf whistling, the group returned to the stage and gave them a rousing, blistering finale to a truly epic concert.
5/5
Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for 365Bristol.com - The leading events and entertainment website in Bristol
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
