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Ludovico Einaudi Performs From Arctic Ocean Ice Flow

• 21st Jun 2016

As if the daddy cool of classical music wasn’t already as stone cold chill as it’s possible to be, Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi has added his voice to those of eight million people from across the world demanding protection for the Arctic – by giving an iconic performance on a grand piano amid the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean.

Einaudi performed a new composition, ‘Elegy for the Arctic’, on a floating platform in the middle of the Ocean, against the backdrop of the Nordenskiöld glacier (in Svalbard, Norway). He travelled on board Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise on the eve of a significant event for the future of the Arctic: this week’s meeting of the OSPAR Commission, which could secure the first protected area in Arctic international waters.

Einaudi’s new piece was inspired by the beauty of the Arctic and the threats it’s facing. There was not enough ice in the area where he was due to perform – owing to the effects of climate change – so Greenpeace had to build a 2.6 x 10 metre artificial iceberg, made from more than 300 triangles of wood stuck together and weighing a total of nearly two tonnes. A grand piano was then placed on top of the platform. The instrument had travelled from a factory in Germany to the Arctic in the hold of the Arctic Sunrise.

Speaking from the Arctic Sunrise, Ludovico Einaudi said:
“Being here has been a great experience. I could see the purity and fragility of this area with my own eyes and interpret a song I wrote to be played in the best stage in the world. It is important that we understand the importance of the Arctic, stop the process of destruction and protect it.”