MY URBAN PIANO Diary 10
Episode 5: SNOWFLAKES — Reykjavík
Just in time before Christmas I published the latest episode of MY URBAN PIANO — Snowflakes — on 23rd December 2017. It is dedicated to the beautiful city of Reykjavík, to Iceland and its inhabitants.
Snowflakes is a Christmas video: full of serenity, beauty and love, but without the seasonal clichés. Christmas is a time to celebrate life, it’s the time to spread the timeless message of hope and love, the time to express gratitude for our existence — which is a gift — even if we struggle amidst all the suffering and pain that is sometimes thrown at us. Never give up, never lose the smile of the heart, never stop to love, give birth to life in all its splendor! Isn’t this what Christmas is all about?
1. THE MUSIC
Of the countless pieces that I have composed in my 38-year-old life, this is my wife Martina’s favorite piece of music. So it must have something special. I love it a lot because of its seeming simplicity and the musical subtleties. It has two themes and two different time meters that are combined at the end of the piece. I explain it in the making of video that we will release in the beginning of 2018. The music single is available on all streaming platforms and on iTunes.
2. THE LOCATIONS
A week ago my team and I travelled to Iceland in order to shoot the music video for Snowflakes. I thank Grayline for sponsoring the Golden Circle Tour during which we shot a lot of the footage used in Snowflakes.
2.1 Harpa
The main location was Harpa, Reykjavík’s prestigious concert hall, the cultural and social centre in the heart of the city. It features stunning views of the surrounding mountains and the North Atlantic Ocean which we were able to capture for my video. Its amazing architecture is breathtaking. The staff at Harpa was super helpful and fantastic to work with. Thanks again to Jón from Harpa for being the best helper to have at your side. It was a moving experience to play my music so close to the sea, with the extraordinary view of the mountains in the background: a moment that I will never forget. The light had an unusually blue color, something I’ve never seen before. Those hours at the “Pizza Slice Room” (as it is called internally) felt like being on a different planet!
2.2 Reykjavík
The charming centre of Reykjavík had of course to be included in the video. You’ll see a couple of shops, one of the characteristic street gates in the form of a red bike, the impressive Hallgrímskirkja in the background, the mailbox for the Icelandic Santa, who hopefully brought many gifts to the children of Iceland…
2.3 Þingvellir National Park
At Þingvellir National Park (anglicised as “Thingvellir”) we were lucky to have some snow showers, which were nice to have in a music video called Snowflakes. After the snowfall we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. Time stood still, and I am glad we caught this on camera (around 1:40 in Snowflakes) The wild landscape and the view on the Þingvallavatn lake was spectacular beyond words.
2.4 Gullfoss
Gullfoss is Iceland’s most famous waterfall, where traversing a narrow path provides close-up views of the massive, two-tiered waterfall below. In winter the view is sensational when the waterfall freezes over into undulating waves of glistening ice. I couldn’t resist to facetime with my family back home. Isn’t it a wonderful phenomenon that we want to share beauty with those precious to us?
2.5 Geysir
The last location that we filmed was the famous Geysir area in Southwestern Iceland from which the English word geyser derives. Boiling hot water amidst snow and ice is a most impressive sight.
The behind the scenes video with more footage of these splendid locations and several interviews will be published in January 2018 on my YouTube channel.
3. THE TEAM
My dear manager Björn Teske and our man for behind-the-scenes material Dan Schank, who have both been part of the team from day one of MY URBAN PIANO, accompanied me to Iceland. This time we engaged Lourenço Sassetti as the director of photography. Lourenço has a unique style, and he was exactly the right man for capturing the beauty of Iceland and translating the subtleties of my music into visuals. I was very happy that my sister Anouck, who had already helped me for episodes one and two, could join the Snowflakes Crew. Although our time schedule was extremely tight, we talked and laughed a lot and we truly enjoyed our time together on this adventure. Back home, Amaury Sinner, a very gifted young man, took care of the editing. Once more over the course of MY URBAN PIANO, I couldn’t have wished for a better team.
4. ON ICELANDIC TELEVISION
Bergsteinn Sigurðsson from the Icelandic national television RÚV was very intrigued by my project and visited me during the video shoot at Harpa to produce a short TV feature. You can watch it here. Did I mention that I love this language?
5. IN LOVING MEMORY OF LISA BERG (1978–2017)
If you have watched Snowflakes until the end, you have seen the sad dedication in the closing scene. Those who have followed me for some time know about cellist Lisa Berg, my dear friend who was diagnosed with leukemia in June 2015, just two weeks before a joint concert that she had to cancel because of her disease. We knew each other from music high school and played together on several occasions, most notably for the soundtrack Follow Me Home that I had composed in 2013 for cello and piano. After a bone marrow donation in November 2015, Lisa got a bit better and was able to play a concert in summer 2016 that we had organized for her. It was an unforgettable event during which she also performed my piece Lisa with me, the piece that I had composed just one day after her terrible diagnose.
Unfortunately this was meant to be our last concert together. Although her mind and soul were strong and she kept fighting until the very end, especially for her little girl Sophie, her frail body had become weaker and weaker. On 20th December I visited Lisa for the last time to say goodbye. The next day she passed away. She will never be forgotten. I loved her very much. Farewell, my dear Lisa.
Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet princess: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! (Willam Shakespeare)
6. LOOKING BACK ON 2017
This year has been amazing in many ways. The idea for MY URBAN PIANO was born in 2016 (with MAMA), but the execution started in March 2017 when we filmed episode no. 1, Train of Dreams, in Luxembourg city. This first video marked the departure for an exceptional adventure that has led me to wonderful places and even more wonderful people. We did five episodes in 2017, and seven more are planned for 2018. It wasn’t always easy, many battles had to be fought, countless hours spent on planning, working, executing. But so far everything has worked out great, and I am truly grateful for all the blessings that I have encountered on this path. I thank everyone who helped me to dive into this exciting journey through Europe, be it my family, my friends, my partners and sponsors of this project. Enjoy episodes 1–5 once again here:
7. THE NEW YEAR
I have huge plans for 2018. It shall be the year that sees the final celebration concert by the end of 2018 and the release of the MY URBAN PIANO album. Several cities are fix on my list and preparations have already begun, while others are yet to be chosen. Stay tuned for the continuation of the European MY URBAN PIANO tour!
I thank you, dear reader, for being a part of this journey. May your 2018 be filled with joy and blessings in abundance. Let’s make it happen!
Listen to the complete MY URBAN PIANO Playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/user/davidianni/playlist/0YIcbUqBwCRukkhKe516tY
The single SNOWFLAKES is available on every streaming and download platform like iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify.
Pianist and composer David Ianni from Luxembourg has become well-known for his project MY URBAN PIANO: a series of music videos is produced in different European Capitals of Culture. An original composition is dedicated to each city, performed on an artistically designed piano. Each piano is donated. Join the journey and follow David on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and sign up for his newsletter. Each video plus making of material is published to David’s YouTube channel. For more information, please visit www.davidianni.com.
