With his new album announced this week, Ludovico Einaudi is hoping to continue taking the classical world by storm once more.
Ludovico Einaudi
Female First got the opportunity to catch up with Einaudi, putting some questions to him about the new record and his career so far. Read on to find out what he had to say.
At what point did you realise that music was a career path you wanted to go down?
I was a teenager and I started to go to high school and it was a disaster! I'd already been playing music for two years as I started very early with my mother - music has always been something I was close to.
When I was a teenager I looked at all the possibilities and started ruling them out with 'nos' and I realised while making this selection that music was the only space where I would love to invest my time - even in the boring moments!
Your fanbase is made up of a majority of 18-24 year olds, bringing classical music to a selection of the public that it isn't usually celebrated by. How does it feel to be the face behind that push?
It's very exciting - it gives me a very energetic perspective on life. It makes me feel connected to young people where I feel the future always is. It's a very positive thing to know that those young fans are out there.
You've worked on some big TV and Movie projects in the past such as Derek and This Is England, what are some of your best memories and experiences from these?
It's very interesting to see how the music is used as sometimes you have composed something with a very different intention and then suddenly you see it connected to something different. For example it was incredibly strong and beautiful the first time I saw This Is England by Shane Meadows. The way it's connected to the story and also the way he uses the music is quite unpredictable. He sometimes finds ways to make the emotion of the scene go in the opposite direction to the music and it creates a stronger result. When it's cleverly done it's fantastic.
Tell us about the creative process you go through when creating new music.
Every time I start a new work I try to be different and to start with a new perspective so I search for a new idea, something which gives me a new way to access my creativity. After years of doing composition the risk is always that you might start to repeat and be cliché. Every time I try find a way to be reborn again as an artist. Its not easy to reinvent yourself every time as it takes a lot of creative energy but I am happy to do it.
What can you tell us about your upcoming album?
[The] new album starts from this perspective of trying to find a new creative path. I wanted to investigate the idea of elements that you have, not only in music, but in every aspect of our lives. I began to read about how the basic elements of creation and about how the world came together. From there I was reading about things like the periodic table - re-reading everything I stopped reading at school! It becomes like gymnastics for the brain - it's fascinating.
All these points began to come together, sometimes in a clear way and sometimes in a chaotic way. When it came to the music, it all began to become more clear and suddenly all the elements started dancing together and it all became very fluid.
Do you have any further definitive aims or goals for your career going forward?
I don't want to stop this. I really like what I do and I think it's fantastic for me to keep doing it.
Ludovico Einaudi's brand new album 'Elements' is released on Decca Records on October 16.