Einaudi: performing is vital

On the eve of his 15-date tour of the UK and Ireland, Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi has revealed to Classic FM that performing is just as vital to him as composing.

Einaudi’s latest tour is solo which, he says, gives him even greater freedom as a performer. "Basically, I have a list. I will start with some of my more recent work and go back. It's like a voyage through my music. For me the concert has to be a very sensitive moment. I think the combination of composing and performing for me makes my musical desires more complete."

But does that mean he will do less composing? “I need to balance my two worlds. So for sure there will be more piano music. I am already writing some new music. I don't know where or when I will decide what it will be.”

"I now understand how it was for Picasso… for example the Blue Period. I guess after a while he found that he went through all the possible variations of that period and then he went to another colour, another period."

Asked what the new work will be like, Einaudi says: "It's not so clear, not so evident. I'm still very interested in working with the piano. It is like driving into the clouds and then suddenly they are gone and you have something that is there."

You can watch an exclusive preview of Indaco, from Einaudi's forthcoming DVD here.

Listen to the complete interview with Einaudi here.