Rare is the artist trafficking in modern classical music who breaks through to the mainstream music listener. Ludovico Einaudi is one of them.

And there’s a good reason: Einaudi’s music is, by-and-large, plangent and soothing – something to throw on in the background (think the Amelie soundtrack, but less dynamic). Unlike much classical music of the modern era (that is, from the early 20th Century onward), Einaudi’s music is consonant rather than dissonant, rhythmically accessible rather than metrically disruptive. An example of this aesthetic is the piece that, because of a film collaboration with Greenpeace, broke him through to a wider audience. The video featured the 60-something silver fox plunking out a mournful dirge (entitled “Eulogy for the Arctic”) atop a small iceberg drifting past a crumbling northern glacier – the most calming climate change PSA ever made, essentially.

Ludovico Einaudi – “Elegy for the Arctic” – Official Live (Greenpeace)www.youtube.com

That was in 2015. Now, Einaudi is back with a larger scale project called Seven Days Walking, a series of seven albums to be released over the course of as many months, after which they will be available in their entirety as a boxed set. Per the composer, the episodes were inspired by walks he took through the Alps in the winter of 2018; each piece was designed to evoke the surrounding environment, not unlike Ludwig Van Beethoven’s “Pastoral” symphony.

So far, Seven Days Walking has been a notable success, by both classical music standards and those of the music industry in general. Day One, made available on March 19, placed 31st on the UK Albums Chart and was streamed over 2 million times before the day of its release was over. Next up will be, naturally, Day Two, set for release on April 19. However, a single for this second installment, entitled “Birdsong,” is already out (you can find it on Spotify). For more information regarding the composer (whose oeuvre includes many film scores) go to his website.

Seven Days Walking (Day 2)

Matt Fink lives and works in Brooklyn. Go to organgrind.com for more of his work.

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