Echoes: The Einaudi Collection [Import]

Ludovico Einaudi (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 27, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Bmg Europe
• ASIN: B0000AM74Z
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,577 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Wabes

2. African Melody III

3. Out Of The Night

4. The Days

5. The Dark Line

6. Eden Roc

7. Nefeli

8. Tonight

9. Two Sunsets

10. Calm

11. Passage

12. Beautiful Night

13. Odd Days

14. Limbo

15. Behind The Window

16. White Night

17. Cadenza

Editorial Reviews

2003 compilation for the symphonic composer & world music star features 17 tracks including 3 tracks, 'Behind The Window', 'White Night', & 'Cadenza', recorded for this collection. BMG.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars from MainlyPiano.com, October 31, 2003

By 

Kathy Parsons (Florence, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Echoes: The Einaudi Collection (Audio CD)

It is the first cold, rainy morning of the fall season, and I'm sitting here listening to one of the most beautiful piano albums I've heard in awhile. Italian composer/pianist Ludovico Einaudi is something of a sensation in Europe, especially in The UK, where his music is featured on Classic FM. The first fourteen tracks are from Einaudi's four previous releases; the last three are new and were recorded live in London earlier this year. The music is complex, but very accessible. It would make a wonderful backdrop for other activities, but deserves active listening to enjoy the beauty of the music as well as Einaudi's evocative playing.

All of the pieces are strong and individual, and several include other instruments besides the piano; one, "Calmo," is a harp solo. The collection opens with "The Waves (Le Onde)," a gorgeous solo inspired by Virginia Woolfe's book of the same title. With gently rolling chords, Einaudi captures the ocean at peace. The theme recurs several times, a little differently each time, just as the ocean is constantly changing and yet is always the same. I absolutely love this piece! "Out of the Night" is piano and strings, and is a bit darker and more brooding, born at the end of a period of frustration and writer's block. "The Dark Line" comes from the Woolfe book again, and describes the place on the horizon where clouds and the sun meet the sea. Rather melancholy and mysterious, it is also deeply passionate. "Eden Roc" is quite different - Celtic in flavor - with piano, guitar, and string quartet. It is livelier and more upbeat, with a pensive melody on strings and a dancelike rhythm on guitar - a very interesting piece! "Nefeli" is a real gem. Composed for an energetic little girl, the piece is flowing, slightly melancholic, and absolutely gorgeous. "Tonight" was inspired by the 16th century French folk songs Einaudi's mother played for him as a child. Romantic and hopeful, this is one of the more upbeat and dynamic tracks with a brilliant left hand accompaniment that sounds like a guitar being strummed - very beautiful! "Odd Days" is another big favorite. Describing "one of those days," the piano and string quartet blend wonderfully in a darkly passionate mood piece that would work well as a film theme (Einaudi has done a lot of work in films as well as other media). "Behind the Window" is one of the newer pieces, and describes the moment when you are looking out a window and something grabs your attention. Light in mood with lots of open spaces, it is a bit less structured than some of the other pieces.

It is fascinating how "Echoes" has a variety of moods and styles of music, and yet carries a pretty consistent mood of calm introspection. This has become one of my favorite albums, and I hope more of Ludovico Einaudi's work becomes available in the US. I give it my highest recommendation.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid Compilation from Italian Pianist, October 25, 2003

By 

S. Cairns (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Echoes: The Einaudi Collection (Audio CD)

Every once in a while, a CD comes along that blows me away with its brilliance. This is one such CD.

"Echoes" is a 78 minute collection containing 14 of Einaudi's most beautiful compositions, selected from four previous albums. In addition, there are three bonus tracks recorded live in London during the Summer of 2003.

Some tracks are piano solos, others are orchestrated. What is consistent, however, is the melodic beauty which shines throughout this disc. It is a joy to listen to from start to finish.

The CD insert contains notes about the origin of the pieces.

This composer has recently become a big hit in England, topping the Classical charts, and performing a very successful tour. Find out why Einaudi is causing such a stir over here in the UK.

I can't recommend this CD highly enough. It is destined to become a classic.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Music for the heart, December 23, 2003

By 

Keith Roddey (Goshen, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Echoes: The Einaudi Collection (Audio CD)

Recently, I saw the movie, Giuseppe Piccioni's "Light of my Eyes (Luce dei miei occhi)" and just fell in love with the score, written by Einaudi. It's just a simple score, a theme played mostly on piano that runs through the movie. But it touched me, had such an emotional effect. So far I've been unsuccessful at getting a copy of it, if it even exists. "Echoes" was my attempt, my hope at capturing something similar...and though it doesn't attain the same emotional hold as that simple theme from the movie, it is still beautiful music...it too is able to stir emotions.

And that's what comes across in the music...emotions. It will carry you away and take you places, memories that you want to relive. And that's a nice thing, a beautiful thing for music to do. And based on that, I reccomend it...