Classical music star Ludovico Einaudi returns to Dubai Opera

Fans will savour his haunting compositions when the Italian pianist is back in the UAE

Ludovico Einaudi’s latest album became the fastest streamed classical album of all time.. Stefan Hoederath / Getty Images

Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi is returning to Dubai next year.

The acclaimed classical music artist will bring his world tour to Dubai Opera on Monday, February 3, 2020.

Fans should make use of the early bird tickets on sale now as this show will likely sell out. Einaudi received a rapturous welcome when he made his debut Middle East concert performance in 2017 at the same venue with two back-to-back capacity shows.

Bigger than Mozart

His star power has only increased since then. Where at that stage his evocative pieces made him the most-streamed classical artist on Spotify – he comfortably beats none other than Mozart – this year he achieved another milestone; his 14th album Seven Days Walking: Day One became the fastest streamed classical album of all-time.

According to his record label Decca, the album gained over 2 million streams on its first day of release, alone.

The album's success forms part of the growth of classical music streaming across the board. According to Gennaro Castaldo, Communications Director of the British Phonographic Industry, Einaudi played a central role in that shift.

“Streaming of classical repertoire is growing at a rapid pace - faster than any other music genre, last year up by 42 per cent,” he said.

“Ludovico Einaudi is in the vanguard of this exciting shift as its most streamed artist, and in the process he is not only seeing a huge leap in his own considerable fan base around the world, he is also helping to draw many more people of all backgrounds into the wonderful world of classical music.”

The son of a president

Born into a family of esteemed lineage – his grandfather was former Italian president Luigi Einaudi, while his father, Calvino, was a successful publisher responsible for releasing works by famed Italian writers Italo Calvino and Primo Levi – Einaudi began playing the piano as a child under the instruction of his mother.

He bolstered his skills after entering the Milan Conservatory, where under the tutelage of adventurous composer Luciano Berio, Einaudi went on to make a name for himself for his inventive pieces that were equally at home in film, television ballet productions and experimental dance theatre.

His haunting compositions, which can be best described as minimal, had him building both a successful solo career as well as scoring numerus Italian films in the 1980s, before landing international gigs including 2011's French blockbuster The Intouchables and Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer J Edgar.

Ludovico Einaudi performs at Dubai Opera on Monday, February 3. Tickets begin from Dh200 from www.dubaiopera.com