MY URBAN PIANO Diary 4
My HEARTLAND Crew
As I wrote in my previous blog post, episode 2 of MY URBAN PIANO is dedicated to the city of Esch-sur-Alzette:
The second city of MY URBAN PIANO video series is Esch/Alzette in Luxembourg. Since it is our plan to visit 12 European Capitals of Culture, Esch is somehow an exception. It is not a European Capital of Culture, or at least not yet, as they are candidating for the title in 2022. I was raised in Schifflange, the neighbor village of Esch, where I went to the lycée and to the music conservatory. I treasure many important and beautiful memories from my youth in Esch, and therefore I fully support their candidature and wanted to express this with a special piece composed for Esch and its corresponding music video. The composition is slower and more introvert than Train of Dreams, it is a ballad about the beauty of Esch and the feelings I associate with the city. I call it Heartland.
Not only do I associate plenty of beautiful and intense memories with Esch, but more importantly the wonderful people that I have been so fortunate to meet there over the years. For “Heartland” some of those beautiful people finally reunited to collaborate on my most personal music video to date. In this blog post I would like to present you the great friends and artists who poured their heart into “Heartland”. Meet the “Heartland” crew.
Julie Schroell (co-director & writer)
I met Julie around 1995 in Esch where we both went to the Lycée de Garçons (LGE). She is a very kind and positive person, and every time we met, I felt that Julie had a sense of freedom that would allow her to go far in life. So I was not surprised to see that she became a very respected movie maker over time and founded her own production company with a friend. Despite the time pressure that accompanies every video shooting, Julie was always calm, joyful and friendly on the set — both human and professional qualities that I appreciate a lot and that made working with her a pleasure.
Martine Glod (co-director & writer)
Julie introduced me to Martine whom she got to know at the LGE where they became friends and later on collaborated on a video project. Martine is full of beautiful creative ideas, and her playfulness leaves a positive imprint on our video. I enjoyed every conversation we had during the preparation of the video shooting and I hope that she we will have many more opportunities to share her unique talents with the world.
Brigitte Urhausen (actress)
I already admired Brigitte during lycée times when she impressed everyone with the most stunning performances in school theatre. She was only 13 or 14 at the time, but already then it was clear to me and many others that she had a very special gift. I followed her work over the years and was happy to see her courageously follow this path professionally. Her career has seen many highlights so far and I feel really blessed that she agreed to take on the leading role in “Heartland”. Brigitte’s performance in the video is magical, and I love every moment of it. She personifies my music absolutely perfectly.
Amandine Klee (director of photography)
Julie had already worked with Amandine, a Luxembourgish camera woman with a wealth of experience. She told me that Amandine is kind, talented and pleasurable to work with. Indeed, when I met Amandine on the first morning on the set in Esch, I felt confident that she would shoot wonderful pictures. The work of the camera men and women is probably one of the most underrated jobs. It’s them who see and catch the little things with their cameras that we don’t see, images that will eventually conjure a smile of delight on our faces. When you see the beautiful, poetic pictures in “Heartland”, you can give a little thought to Amandine — a very focused, strong and energetic woman — who held the camera for ten to twelve hours over two days, and not once did I hear her complain.
Joël Seiller (hair and make-up artist)
Joël and I met in 1999 at a production of Leonard Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’ where my job as a corepetitor was to make sure that the singers sang in tune, wheras he made the whole cast look great on stage. When Joël lovingly puts his make-up on your face, it feels like a wellness treatment. His calming aura really gets you in the mood for a great performance. You have to check out his blog Joel.lu, which is always an entertaining and personal read. Joël also wrote about “Heartland” here.
Martina Ianni (costumer)
I married the most amazing woman in the world almost ten years ago. It was hard to win over her heart, but it was worth all the struggle (long story…). God blessed us with three great children, the joy of our lives, and for many years Martina has been sewing most of their clothes. When I asked her if she could sew the costumes for “Heartland”, she instantly agreed. Our friends at Pumuckl Stoffversand sponsored the fabric and Martina started to work on our dresses which turned out super beautiful. You can follow Martina on her Facebook page Girafanten (made up from the names of our children Giulia, Raphael and Antonio).
Antonio Ianni (special appearance)
My eldest son Antonio always enjoyed performing in front of people. In “Train of Dreams” you see him shortly on the train — an experience that he loved. So when he heard that I was going to shoot another video, he asked me if he could get a part in it. “Sure, if you are not too expensive?”, I asked. “Hm, I want a detergent for my ping-pong bat.” — “Okay, I think we have the budget for that!” Julie and Martine wrote a scene for Antonio in which he plays me as a child. And he did a great job! Luckily though, you won’t hear what he played on his little toy piano: he started with John Williams’ “Imperial March” from Star Wars, then (when I asked him to play something more joyful) he played “The Eye of the Tiger” which also did not really fit the romantic mood of scene. Finally he improvised an uncanny Alfred-Hitchcock-like tune. And not once did the music distract Brigitte, who performed each take with an expression on her face that makes you believe that Antonio is playing “Heartland”. You can see Antonio in this teaser for “Heartland”.
Anouck Ianni (production manager)
My sister Anouck has been incredibly supportive of my project right from the start. She was actually the first team member when I started to develop the idea of traveling Europe with colorful pianos. Prior to an important meeting she once said to me: “Call me your manager, secretary, sister, bodyguard, sales assistant, translator, whatever you like!” As it turned out, Anouck is a bit of everything, but most of all, she is the best sister and I love her very much.
Dan Schank & Francis Verquin (‘making of’ producers)
Dan is the man for “making of” material. A studied journalist, he worked for both TV and online news. Just recently he decided to become an independent video producer. I can’t recommend Dan’s work highly enough. For the making of videos that he filmed for “Train of Dreams” and “Heartland” he was everywhere and at the same time almost invisible, spreading an aura of calmness around him. It’s great to have such people around when you have to work fully focused and under time pressure. Also, if your vintage car won’t turn on, Dan will push it until the engine runs again. It’s always a joy to work with Dan, and I look forward to having him with us for the next “My Urban Piano” shootings too. His colleague and friend Francis helped us out when Dan was not available on the second day of our shoot, and it was also fantastic to work with him. Francis is very cheerful, smart and friendly, a combination that is hard to beat.
Emile Hengen (photographer)
Emile is a renowned photographer based in Esch. I discovered his astounding work just a few weeks prior to the shooting of “Heartland”. I was immediately captured by the beauty and depth of his photographs. As I found out when we met for the first time, Emile is exactly what his photography suggest him to be: a very generous, kind and sensitive young man. His caring and calming presence makes people actually enjoy being photographed, which is really unusual, because most people — even artists — don’t feel so comfortable in front of a camera. Please visit his website which showcases some of his beautiful works.
Raphael Gindt (artist)
Raphael is both a genius and one of the nicest guys I know. I have the impression that he is always working on new paintings, facades or other big projects which he seems to accomplish with ease and elegance. He had the great idea of making the piano for “Heartland” rusty, since the “Minett” (southern region of Luxembourg) is famous for its steel industry and its red earth. The piano — which was kindly sponsored by Pianohaus Hübner — was a beautiful instrument to begin with. But Raphael transformed it into a magnificent work of art which melted wonderfully with the locations of our shootings. We will donate the piano to the Kulturfabrik in Esch, where it will find a new beautiful home. Don’t miss to check out Raphael’s website.
Björn Teske (manager)
I met Björn in early 2015 after one of my concerts in Berlin when he was still the managing director at DEAG Music. I liked him immediately and we stayed in touch. Considering his impressive expertise and experience in the music industry, paired with his human qualities, I wanted us to work together from the first moment. Fortunately, the attraction was mutual: Björn loved my music and believed in me. In summer 2016 he decided to found his own company bt’em entertainment management and since then we have been a team. Björn has taken over my management and together we have developed MY URBAN PIANO. Without Björn I would not have made it this far, and I not only consider him to be a fantastic manager, but even more importantly, he has become a dear friend.
The single HEARTLAND is available on streaming and download platforms 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.
