The Summer Portraits Live was recorded live in London at The Royal Albert Hall in 2025 and contains favorites from Ludovico Einaudi’s 2025 The Summer Portraits album as well as Einaudi classics including “I Giorni,” “Nuvole Bianche” “The Tower” and “Experience,” which have been included in several of Einaudi’s previous releases. There are several points about this album (all positives, I think!) that should be clarified here:

1) Even though this is a “live” album, there are no audience sounds AT ALL.
2) There is no speaking AT ALL.
3) Not all of the pieces on the studio album The Summer Portraits appear on this one - eight of the thirteen tracks from the original album are included, but the other four tracks on the live album are new recordings of music from previous albums.
4) Some of the tracks are solo piano, but many include strings, acoustic guitar, percussion, accordion, keyboards, and/or bass (electric and synth).

Actually, none of those points are any kind of problem for me - I always find that audience sounds distract from the music, so this sounds very much like a studio album.

I was introduced to Einaudi’s music back in 2003 when a British friend sent me Echoes - The Einaudi Collection, which was only available in Europe at that time. Since then, Einaudi has quietly become the world’s most successful contemporary classical artist, with music that has reached millions through his recordings, film, television and live performances worldwide.

The story behind the chart-topping The Summer Portraits album is interesting, too. The album was inspired by a collection of paintings hanging on the walls of villa on a Mediterranean island where Einaudi stayed one summer. A woman who owned the house spent every summer there with her family and created new paintings each year to leave in the house. Quoting Einaudi, “So I started to make my own paintings with music.”

The London Evening Standard calls the album “A sonic massage for the brain.” I like that! However, that doesn’t mean this is music that can melt into the woodwork as you zone out into a semi-catatonic state! This is music that is meant to be listened to and savored over and over, hearing new things in the music each time. I also really like that some tracks are solo piano while others are more orchestrated, creating a nice variety. So, whether you are a longtime fan of Ludovico Einaudi’s music or are discovering it for the first time, The Summer Portraits Live is a treat for the soul as well as the ears!

The Summer Portraits Live is available to download and stream now on Amazon, and will be available on CD and vinyl on August 7, 2026. It is also available to stream and download on Apple Music/iTunes as well as many streaming platforms including Spotify and Pandora. Be sure to check this one out!