When I go out with friends, we tend to visit places with a very specific music genre. But, when I am at home, I listen to many different types, ranging from jazz to house music to reggaeton to classical.
It was this way that by pure chance, listening to one of my Pandora radio stations, I first heard Ludovico Einaudi. The piece that played made such a strong impact on me that I couldn’t help myself, but share it with everyone, including on my blog. It was “A Fuoco”. Not too long after, “Ora” followed too.

My absolute favorites so far though:

Divenire

… and Primavera

Already last year, I wanted to go see him perform live. However, I was too late and by the time I actually got around to try and purchase tickets, his concert was sold out.

This year though, I made sure I wouldn’t miss him. Fortunately for me, he came to play in San Francisco again.
He performed by himself on his piano – no other musicians accompanied him on other instruments. (He did however have some background sound for a couple of the pieces.) Honestly, I was happy about this. Of course, it is absolutely beautiful to have a full orchestra playing, but I thought that this way I could really appreciate his talent and ability to play.

I was very excited and couldn’t wait for everyone to sit down so the concert could start.
The moment the lights were dimmed, all I was waiting for was for him to show up and take his place in front of the piano so I could remember the very instant before the first notes. That exact instant when everyone holds their breath, when silence is as silent as it can be. The instant when the artist places his hands on the instrument of his choice and is about to create something that moves everyone around him — In Ludovico Einaudi’s case — music that engages your feelings.

For a little over an hour and a half (or ten pieces if my husband counted correctly), I was fixated in my seat, watching him play.

It was amazing.

Shortly after it was over, Einaudi showed up in the hall to sign discs and tickets. It was very kind of him considering he’d have to be at the airport right after that in order to fly to Washington to continue his tour.

Hopefully, I’ll have the chance to see him perform live again.