I love music.

I write about the music I like and have purchased for the benefit of better understanding it and sharing my preferences with others.

Waves: the Piano Collection

This album is more about the music of Ludovico Einaudi than the piano playing of Jeroen van Veen.

Screen Shot 2013-12-04 at 8.35.17 PM.png

That said, the piano sound is clear and is consistent across all the tracks: 91 in all! It follows several works/albums by Einaudi, including *Eden Roc*, *Divenire*, *In a Time Lapse*, *Nightbook*, and *Le Onde*. In some tracks, Jeroen is joined by Sandra (van Veen) with added instrumentation. 

Instrumentation in Einaudi's works is special, in that this orchestration gives character to the repetitive nature of the music following similar chord progressions. With piano as the only sound, the collection can grow tedious without that the color or timbre of other instruments. To add to the problem, van Veen opts for a "middle of the road" touch with mild dynamics throughout. It's a lot of "sameness" as a collection.

That said, the album I am most familiar with was Einaudi's successful *Divenire*, and the re-orchestrations for piano are nicely done. Just as with Bach's WTC collections, you probably won't sit down to listen to it all, all at once. 

Einaudi's music reminds me what might result of Karl Jenkins and Philip Glass collaborated. It's lighter than Glass, but more interesting, say, than Jenkins. The music as a whole can be relaxing, tonal, and satisfying. It's not bad background music, working music, or even "thinking music" to walk by.

I received this at a considerable discount through a digital purchase and have no complaints about it. My recommendation would be to take it in shallow doses, and if you're already conversant with Einaudi's art.

Concerti per 2 violini - Vivaldi

Corelli Concerti Grossi