Ludovico Einaudi by Cesare Cicardini ©
Ludovico Einaudi is an Italian pianist and composer who has put together cinematic scores for more than 80 films, commercials and documentaries.
His credits include Clint Eastwood’s J.Edgar, Giacomo Campiotti’s Doctor Zhivago, Shane Meadows’ This is England and the Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning films The Father and Nomadland, starring Anthony Hopkins and Frances McDormand, respectively.
Ludovico Einaudi is in for an interview about film scoring, cinematic music, and using Kodak roll films for a hobby.
Ludovico Einaudi by Ray Tarantino ©
Ludovico, who are your main sources of inspiration in music?
Oh, this is such a big question! Let’s start by saying that there are some timeless classics that belong to the history of classical music: they are always there and they pop out every now and then, and you have your very own unique way of putting them on a scene. And then there is my love and passion for non-classical music; I grew up listening to a lot of popular music, rock music, ethnic music, and electronic music, and I have experienced other genres in many ways in all my different projects around the world. After having listened so much though, this is a moment in my life when I’m maybe listening less – I mean, I’m still listening to stuff now and then, but I’m not as hungry anymore as I was in my twenties.
Why did you choose the piano?
The piano sounded like home to me; my mother used to play the piano, so this was a musical instrument we always had at home when I was a child. Also, the piano allows you to really “see” all the notes and chords, so when you’re composing music, you kind of see everything straight away. The keyboard is developed in such a well-ordered way that you can literally detect all the octaves in front of you, which gives you structure. The piano also encloses a very large range of musical scales and frequencies, so unlike any other instrument, you can go very low and very high on a piano, you can move around and create almost the range of an orchestra. The piano offers a lot of opportunities.
Which one of your film scores do you feel most attached to?
I’ve got lots of positive memories of several scores I composed for films and TV – I’m thinking about a movie I worked on with Giuseppe Piccioni some years ago in Italy [this is either Not Of This World, 1999, or Light Of My Eyes, 2001]. Also, there is another interesting experience I had for a three-part British television drama titled Dr Zhivago, starring Keira Knightley. It was a very demanding project, but we did a good job there; there was a lot of music and a lot of different themes: love, war, Russia and a lot of things that dried me out, but it was a very enjoyable experience. More recently, there has been a great partnership with Japanese film director Hirokazu Koreeda [The Third Murder, 2017]. Every movie has its own story and the people you get to work with, which brings you great memories in all shapes and forms. You know, in the beginning, film scores were not really meant to be my main activity, but then I realised that there are over 80 films out there featuring my music. And so I’m happy to see my music eventually becoming a consistent part of it all. Willy-nilly, this is still a part of my life; the record Cinema, released by Decca in 2021, was a celebration of my work in film scores; the films The Father and Nomadland, which both won Academy Awards, BAFTAs and Golden Globes that year, have further led to the making of this collection, and I’m fine with that.
How did you get involved in the making of The Father?
It was 2019 when Florian Zeller [the (French) director of The Father] reached out to suggest we work together on this film he was making. It was a very busy moment for me, I had this series of concerts I do every year just before Christmas at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan – it’s like ten concerts, one a day, and therefore it was very difficult for me to find the time for other projects. We eventually met, I watched the film with Florian, and I liked both him and his work. He was just so enthusiastic and accommodating that he eventually managed to drag me into this project with him. Every afternoon, just before the beginning of the concert, we would meet and record in a room of the theatre that we eventually used to record all the film scores, and we finished the work in just a few days. Fortunately, The Father doesn’t feature a huge amount of music; the most difficult part to work on was the final scene, the monologue by Anthony Hopkins with music playing in the background. It’s the most important part of the story, with the camera switching from him to nature. It’s very moving. I enjoyed working on The Father; I had a very good team with very smart people, and I had great support to get the job done to the highest standards.
How about Nomadland?
When it comes to Nomadland, I was contacted by director Chloé Zhao, and she presented the film she was making, starring Frances McDormand. She didn’t know how to combine the footage and music; she had found me by googling “music inspired by nature”, she’d bumped into my Elegy For The Arctic video, which led her to discover another project I had put out later, called Seven Days Walking. She finally felt she had found the music she wanted for the film, and it was nice to know that my music helped give her screenplay some structure. And so we talked, and at some point, it felt like she wanted to add some original music to the film, but then she was on a strict deadline to present Nomadland to the Venice Film Festival, so she gave up and resumed only using the scores that had already been composed, which were not original. This was an easy job for me as I didn’t really have to do any more than agree to something that – in my opinion – was working really well. However, because the soundtrack didn’t include any original score, this meant that I couldn’t be nominated for Best Original Score at the Oscars.
And how did you get into the making of This Is England in 2006?
Working with Shane Meadows on This Is England was a great experience. He told me the whole story about how he found me. He was in London in a taxi cab to the airport, off to the Toronto International Film Festival. He was wondering whether he really wanted to tell this story, inspired by his childhood memories and trauma, when the taxi radio suddenly played one of my tracks. He immediately thought it was the right music for him to finally be able to tell his story in a film, but my name was mispronounced by the radio speaker, and so he left without knowing how to find me. Then, once in Toronto, he got in another cab, and the radio was playing my song again. And so this time around, he paid more attention and eventually managed to get hold of my name, although the radio speaker mispronounced it again! He finally got in touch with me, flew to Milan, where I was at the time and brought the film, which we watched together in my living room. I was overwhelmed by his energy and intensity and how beautiful the movie was, so we ended up working together.
Is there any difference between making music for films in Italy and abroad?
It wouldn’t really be any different for a composer, but maybe Italian filmmaking is more tied to comedy as a genre, while different film genres were probably more explored abroad. If I’m thinking about less traditional movies in Italy, somebody that comes to mind is Michelangelo Antonioni, and also Sergio Leone in a certain way… but I haven’t watched much Italian cinema in the latest years, so I can’t generalise.
Sergio Leone had most of his films orchestrated by the late Maestro Ennio Morricone; what legacy did the Maestro leave to the world?
In addition to composing amazing film scores, Ennio Morricone was certainly a pioneer in his own field. He managed to create a certain type of distinctive sound and a unique trademark which are recognisable and recognised not only in Italy but literally everywhere in the world. And this will still live and survive forever.
Had you not worked in the music industry, what would you be doing today? Did you have a plan B?
I don’t know if that would be in terms of a career, but it is certainly about passion: I have a passion that I’m still nurturing today, which is photography. I love it. It’s my way of being on my own and meditating, and looking at the world and searching for the right angle and lighting. Photography brings me inside my mind, and back.
Ludovico Einaudi showing a Kodak roll film
What kind of photos do you take?
I think the genre of photography I do might be considered landscape photography, as I focus on landscape details. Sometimes, I portray people as well, but what I really like and enjoy the most is trying to follow the right lighting and angle. I’ve been out and about today, strolling around the Italian Langhe here in Piedmont with my camera, taking photos. I do this every day, I go for a walk, bringing my camera – look, I’m still using roll films! I mean, I use digital cameras as well, but I actually do prefer the rendering and effects on roll films!
Ludovico Einaudi by Ray Tarantino ©