Einaudi’s Piano Tribute to the Arctic

As the problem of global warming is growing more serious every year, various organizations worldwide are trying to draw people’s attention to this undeniably formidable matter and raise awareness in every way possible.

an Arctic iceberg

Thus, recently the famous Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi (known for music to films like The Intouchables, Black Swan, Doctor Zhivago series, music works like I Giorni, Divenire, Primavera and many others) was asked to become the voice for Greenpeace’s campaign for saving the Arctic.
To make the message to the world leaders more clear and visual, the renowned pianist was taken to the heart of a melting glacier in Norway and performed there on a specially built floating platform with a grand piano installed on it. For the event, Einaudi, the author of hundreds of music scores already, composed a special theme piece titled “Elegy for the Arctic”. As you can see in the video below, the music piece embraces the ambiance perfectly. We can even observe the ice crumbling helplessly behind the pianist’s back.

Of course, it’s only a symbolic campaign in a world where the race for money and natural resources surpasses the needs of the surrounding nature. However, I wish this powerful act in defense of the fragility of this unique ecosystem did have the planned effect on the countries that are most involved in the destruction of the Arctic ocean.

Porz Goret from Yan Tiersen’s Eusa

Even if you haven’t watched the French film Amelie (by the way, you should, it’s a wonderful work!), you have heard its music theme anyway. In case you never wondered who its composer is, here he is – Yann Tiersen.

French composer Yann Tiersen

I was glad to find out that he released a new ‘album’, as I find his piano pieces simply gorgeous, always rich in harmonies and so skillfully crafted into a poignant yet beautiful entity. I mentioned ‘album’, though it’s not quite an album. It’s a project that he called “Eusa”. Eusa is one of the names that can be used for composer’s home, the island of Ushant, or Ouessant, which is located near Brittany. Tiersen did a thorough work to present his favorite island by splitting it into special locations and dedicating a music piece to each of them. Thus, “Eusa” is built of 10 piano pieces each with a strong background. Tiersen not only composed a bright music description but included a GPS coordinate as well as a wonderful photo into each of the composition. This is how ‘the musical map’ of the little-known island was born. “Eusa” was released in form of a sheet music book with all the additional materials published with it.

The first piece Yann Tiersen shared with the public was the piano solo “Porz Goret”. The video of the author playing this composition you can see below, and those who would love to perform it themselves can get the piano sheet music here. “Porz Goret” is a longing and dreamy piece with perfect right-hand melody that drifts you away right away. It does tell a story of a little place, and a story of a man’s soul. According to Tiersen, his Eusa pieces also built a map of who he is.