Institute of Contemporary Arts

DAY SIXTEEN: Ludovico Einaudi and Edin Karamazov

Date: 16 July 2007

Ludovico Einaudi

Mood, atmosphere and relaxation reigned supreme at the Ludovico Einaudi concert on Monday. Unlike so many of the gigs so far, the focus wasn’t on enjoying a big sound in a small space, but rather listening to a small sound in a small space, the intimacy of the small theatre accentuating the tension between artist and audience. You could literally hear a pin drop during both acts, and as a result I didn’t take many pictures. The noise of my camera button was enough to disrupt things, so I gave up on that and enjoyed, or should I say appreciated, the show.

The first interesting point to be made about the evening was that the support act was different than expected. I came all prepared for Dhafer Youssef, avant-garde jazz musician and oud player, but he couldn’t make it in the end (some problem about his band or lack of) so instead we had the Bosnian musician Edin Karamazov. This turned out to be a merry exchange, and at least the audience still got to hear a lute being played, albeit of a different variety. Edin wowed people with his nimble fingers with a selection that included German, Turkish and Cuban-inspired modern classical music. Edin is best known for his work in the chamber music department, (he recently collaborated with Sting on Songs from the Labyrinth based on the music of 16th century composer John Dowland) but last night he focused more on newer material and experimented with the electrical guitar and sound-altering electrical loops and effects.) I personally enjoyed his no fuss lute pieces the most. To watch him play is to see an instrument becoming an extension of a person and vice versa, Edin became an extension of his lute. So it made sense then that he later told me, ‘I don’t play the music, the music plays me.’ Edin finished with aplomb, performing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue In D Minor after joking that he only thought Bach composed it; ‘Probably he just stole it from some lesser known artist who wrote it for the lute…So I’ve transcribed it back again.’ I liked Edin’s sense of humour on and off stage and although I couldn’t get a straight answer out of him about anything much, I did get him to describe himself with the letters ICA, (in his mother tongue no less); IDEM CRTATI AMKANTDELO were his words of choice. If I have any Bosnian readers, please comment, he wouldn’t tell me the meaning so I am most intrigued. I also got a rather brooding picture of him outside the theatre, which is now in the picture gallery.

And so onto Einaudi. Well, I can’t deny it; the music of Italian composer Einaudi just isn’t my cup of tea. I’ve seen him twice now and my feelings haven’t changed. I can’t appreciate the sound of his simplistic, monotonous music, which uses the same handful of comatose chords to drag us painfully through what feels to me like overtly emotive music. I failed to appreciate him the first time I saw him at the Barbican recently and Monday’s intimate, trio-favoured environment failed to bring me round.

However, that’s just tiny little me talking, and if Einaudi is your thing, (and he has thousands of fans, ready to write in and revolt against such claims I’m sure) then you definitely would have been excited by Monday's show. It cannot be denied that his simplistic compositions rely on the expression with which they are played to exude any kind of thought provoking complexity, so for fans to see him this close, well it must have been a mind-boggling thrill.

And the fans were of all ages. Einaudi’s music appeals to people young and old and an eclectic crowd attended the concert. One couple in their forties told me, ‘We’re surprised we are not surrounded by more old cronies like ourselves’ and, while this reaction might have been more accurate if this had been any other modern classical concert, Einaudi’s music is accessible stuff. It sounds like (or is) trendy soundtrack music, and it is far easier on the ear than a Verdi Opera or Tchaikovsky symphony.

If you didn’t make the concert but are wondering what he played, the majority of the tracks came from his most recent album which is slightly more electric based, hence the presence of the laptop musician with the cellist. Tracks included Luce, Uno, Andare, Oltremare, L’origine Nascosta and the title track Divenire (music in the same vein as Michael Nyman’s The Piano). Eden Roc and Due Tramonti from the Eden Roc album also got played, and as a treat for his UK fans, he performed Al Diva; the soundtrack music he wrote for the British made television programme Zhivago. There was plenty to keep fans happy here, and I promise you, it was only really me to be found dashing for the doors.

Torie Speyer