22/02/2012 - The sophisticated Italian pianist talks about his collaboration with the Toledano & Nakache duo for the comedy that is conquering Europe

For those who saw Roberto Andò’s Strange Crime (Best Film Score at the Avignon Film Festival) and Shane Meadows’ This is England [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (nominated for its music at the 2006 BIFA) it will be hard to forget the charms of his piano. Ludovico Einaudi, one of the most loved and requested artists of the European scene, has a very measured relationship with cinema. But in the past few weeks Ludovico has found himself involved in the whirlwind that is Untouchable [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the film by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache which has conquered France with its 20 million viewers and is getting ready to conquer the world (article). We asked him what it feels like to create the score for a highly successful European film.

Ludovico Einaudi: “It’s the first time I work on a comedy. And I’m happy to have contributed to a film with a subtle and elegant humour which supports a story that never falls into the trap of being overly soppy. I very much like the two characters’ contrasting positions: one belongs to the great French bourgeoisie, his life is governed by his disability and dulled by his association with that social class; the other one, who comes from Paris’ banlieu, has yet some life to see and the sap running through his veins is transmitted to that big bourgeois house. The film made me reflect on two worlds that can come together, on the possibility that integration might give our society a future.

Why did you agree to compose the score for this film?
I had seen Eric and Olivier’s previous comedies and liked them. This film has also been beautifully directed, with scenes that create great exciting tension, as for example the car race.

How did you work on the film? Did you see the scenes which needed music before you started composing?
The directors had very clear ideas, and we met on a regular basis, we worked closely before and during the film’s production. They put together some pieces and asked me to rearrange them and record them in Paris, after having examined the film’s pauses and emotions. I had my own requirements and I respected them.

Would you be ready to abandon the elegant piano solo which characterises your work to adapt to the needs of a film?
For Strange Crime I used the piano as well as the strings and I did the same for the TV series created on the back of This is England, which did not use the music of Meadows’ film. But I don’t love those bombastic arrangements of Hollywood films which all sound the same.

Are there any new film projects?
I am waiting for an important proposal for consideration. I got involved in an American sci-fi film project which is not moving at the moment. My dream is to create music for a big film like Blade Runner, but keeping a certain freedom to decide what to compose.