I like it at concerts, also my own, when there is a certain detachment from the original recordings and an unenforced intensity. How would you describe your music philosophy? Interestingly, I never know when recording an album which pieces I will like to play most in the long run and which will be more popular. After this first phase of stabilization other variations may appear when performing in front of an audience, which change the composition only for the evening or permanently. The repetitive process slowly shapes the form of the pieces, until I am happy with them. Then I play the individual parts again and again, revise them, and sometimes write the notes by hand in my exercise books. The initial ideas come from improvisations, from an irrational rhapsodic impulse. My concerts often begin with projections of pictures that I have taken. I have a small camera collection and love to take photos when I’m out walking or on tour. Yes, since I was 14 years-old photography, in particular with films, has been a great passion of mine. Is it true that you took the photo yourself? The swan also stands for depth and reminds you to follow your instinct – the flow of life. Apollo, the God of poetry and music, considered the swan to be sacred. In ancient Greece it was a symbol for beauty and grace. What does the swan on the cover symbolize? Under water you hear your own breathing, your pulse, and you perceive yourself differently. «Underwater» is synonymous with the sound that is not present in our everyday lives, in which the world pulsates and moves, but from a sphere in which everything is more round and muted. What was the inspiration for the album title? It is almost like playing the didgeridoo! (laughs) You influence the piano with your breathing and movement, the piano answers with the sound, which leads again to the pianist’s breathing. I love returning to this pure form, to the dialogue between pianist and instrument, which is both giving and taking. Yes, however I did not realize that in the beginning, as other albums include individual solo piano pieces. «Underwater» is your first solo piano album in 20 years… Then I noticed that I wanted to share it with others. I became particularly fond of the pieces because this music came to me without me having to look for it. I began to write down several ideas on paper. As no one knew when the pandemic would end I had the feeling of infinity. I was doing everything out of pleasure and delight because I had unrestricted time. I actually did not want to make a new album. I went for walks, then sat down at the piano, composed, recorded pieces … Everything ran smoothly, without pressure, without a defined objective.

It was as if nature wanted to tell us to take everything a bit easier and not to stress the planet as much.ĭuring those days on which I had no responsibilities I began to sense the freedom and felt almost like a teenager, living one day at a time and only doing what I loved. There were almost no airplanes in the sky, air pollution was reduced and the fish returned to the lagoon in Venice. If we factor out all the suffering, which many people experienced, the sudden tranquility and silence had a positive effect as well. I had never experienced this before, nobody had ever experienced it. It was as if all activities in the world had been stopped. I actually only wanted to spend a week in our house in the mountains, but then the week turned into several months. Then it exploded here in northern Italy as well and the lockdown came. I had just come back from giving concerts in Australia and Singapore, when the first signs of COVID-19 appeared in China, but no one thought yet that this virus could also come to us. The first pieces were written two years ago. Yes … (smiles), put it this way: there is an actual connection between this music and the situation we find ourselves in.

We should be able to get «Underwater» on prescription … Your music has a healing effect on our pandemic-troubled souls. ADAM THE MAGAZINE talked to him about the origins of his new album «Underwater». He fills auditoria and temples of pop with his music, which is partly of a meditative to lounge nature. The Italian pianist and composer, Ludovico Einaudi (66), is the most streamed classic artist of all time.

Time magazine sidenotes