Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall from Hyde Park
General information
Type	Concert Hall
Architectural style	Italianate
Address	Kensington Gore South Kensington London SW7 2AP
Country	England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°30′03.40″N 00°10′38.77″W / 51.500944°N 0.1774361°W / 51.500944; -0.1774361
Construction started	18671
Completed	18711
Inaugurated	29 March 1871
Cost	£200,0001
Height	135 feet (41 m)2
Design and construction
Client	Queen Victoria
Main contractor	Lucas Brothers
Architect	Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y.D. Scott of the Royal Engineers
Website
Official website
References
1 - Victorian London: Royal Albert Hall 2 - Royal Albert Hall, London

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941.

Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from several performance genres have appeared on its stage and it has become one of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings. Each year it hosts more than 350 events including classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, sports, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and banquets.

The hall was originally supposed to have been called The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed by Queen Victoria to Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences when laying the foundation stone as a dedication to her deceased husband and consort Prince Albert. It forms the practical part of a national memorial to the Prince Consort – the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by the road Kensington Gore.

History[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)

In 1851, the Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park, London, for which the Crystal Palace was built. The exhibition was a great success and led Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, to propose that a permanent series of facilities be built in the area for the enlightenment of the public. Progress on the scheme was slow and in 1861 Prince Albert died, without having seen his ideas come to fruition. However, a memorial was proposed for Hyde Park, with a Great Hall opposite.

Postcard of the Hall (circa 1903) with an inset of the Albert Memorial.

The proposal was approved and the site was purchased with some of the profits from the Exhibition. Once the remaining funds had been raised, in April 1867 Queen Victoria signed the Royal Charter of the Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences which was to operate the Hall and on 20 May, laid the foundation stone.^[1] The hall was designed by civil engineers Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y.D. Scott of the Royal Engineers and built by Lucas Brothers.^[2] The designers were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum. The recently opened Cirque d'Hiver in Paris was seen in the contemporary press as the design to outdo. The hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red brick, with terra cotta block decoration made by Gibbs and Canning Limited of Tamworth. The dome (designed by Rowland Mason Ordish) on top was made of wrought iron and glazed. There was a trial assembly made of the iron framework of the dome in Manchester, then it was taken apart again and transported to London via horse and cart. When the time came for the supporting structure to be removed from the dome after re-assembly in situ, only volunteers remained on site in case the structure dropped. It did drop – but only by five-sixteenths of an inch.^[3] The hall was scheduled to be completed by Christmas Day 1870 and the Queen visited a few days beforehand to inspect.^{[citation needed]}

The official opening ceremony of the Hall was on 29 March 1871. A welcoming speech was given by Edward, the Prince of Wales; Queen Victoria was too overcome to speak although she did comment that it reminded her of the British constitution.^[1]

A concert followed, when the Hall's acoustic problems became immediately apparent. Engineers first attempted to solve the strong echo by suspending a canvas awning below the dome. This helped and also sheltered concertgoers from the sun, but the problem was not solved: it used to be jokingly said that the Hall was "the only place where a British composer could be sure of hearing his work twice".

Initially lit by gas, the hall contained a special system where its thousands of gas jets were lit within ten seconds. Though it was demonstrated as early as 1873 in the Hall,^[4] full electric lighting was not installed until 1888.^[1] During an early trial when a partial installation was made, one disgruntled patron wrote to The Times newspaper declaring it to be "a very ghastly and unpleasant innovation".

Acoustic diffusing discs (lit in blue) hanging from the roof of the Hall. The fluted aluminium panels are seen above, lit in red.

In 1936, the Hall was the scene of a giant rally celebrating the British Empire, the occasion being the centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth. In October 1942, the Hall suffered minor damage during World War II bombing but was left mostly untouched as German pilots used the distinctive structure as a landmark.^[4]

In 1949 the canvas awning was removed and the glass dome was replaced with fluted aluminium panels in a new attempt to solve the echo; however, the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when a series of large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly referred to as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed below the ceiling to reduce the notorious echo. ^[1]

Renovation and redevelopment[link]

Between 1996 and 2004 the Hall underwent a programme of renovation and development supported by a £20 million (roughly $32 million US) grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances. Thirty "discrete projects" were designed and supervised by BDP without disrupting events.^[5] These projects included improving ventilation to the auditorium, more bars and restaurants, new improved seating, better technical facilities and more modern backstage areas. The largest project was the building of a new south porch – door 12, accommodating a restaurant, new box office and below a new delivery area. Although the exterior of the building was largely unchanged, the south steps leading down to Prince Consort Road were demolished to allow construction of an underground vehicle access and accommodation for 3 HGVs carrying all the equipment brought by shows. The steps were then reconstructed around a new south porch on the same scale and in the same style as the three pre-existing porches: these works were undertaken by Taylor Woodrow Construction.^[6] The original steps featured in early scenes of 1965 film The Ipcress File. On 4 June 2004, the project received the Europa Nostra Award for remarkable achievement.^[7] The East and West porches were glazed and new bars opened along with ramps to improve disabled access.

Internally the Circle was rebuilt in four weeks in June 1996 providing more leg room, better access and improved sight lines. The Stalls were rebuilt in a four week period in 2000 using steel supports allowing more space underneath for two new bars. 1534 unique pivoting seats were laid – with an addition of 180 prime seats. The Choirs were rebuilt at the same time. The whole building was redecorated in a style that reinforces its Victorian identity. New carpets were laid in the corridors – specially woven with a border that follows the elliptic curve of the building in the largest single woven design in the world.

The works included a major rebuilding of the great organ, originally built by "Father" Henry Willis in 1871 and rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison in 1924 and 1933. The current work was performed by Mander Organs between 2002 and 2004^[8] and the organ is now again the second largest pipe organ in the British Isles with 9,999 pipes in 147 stops. The largest is the Grand Organ in Liverpool Cathedral which has 10,268 pipes.^[9]

Design[link]

The Triumph of Arts and Sciences.

The hall, a Grade I listed building,^[10] is an ellipse in plan, with major and minor axes of 83 m (272 ft) and 72 m (236 ft). The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the hall is 41 m (135 ft) high. It was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people and has accommodated as many as 9,000 (although modern safety restrictions mean that the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,544 including standing in the Gallery).

Around the outside of the hall is a great mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Proceeding anti-clockwise from the north side the sixteen subjects of the frieze are: (1) Various Countries of the World bringing in their Offerings to the Exhibition of 1851; (2) Music; (3) Sculpture; (4) Painting; (5) Princes, Art Patrons and Artists; (6) Workers in Stone; (7) Workers in Wood and Brick; (8) Architecture; (9) The Infancy of the Arts and Sciences; (10) Agriculture; (11) Horticulture and Land Surveying; (12) Astronomy and Navigation; (13) A Group of Philosophers, Sages and Students; (14) Engineering; (15) The Mechanical Powers; and (16) Pottery and Glassmaking.

Above the frieze is an inscription in 12 in (300 mm) terracotta letters that combine historical fact and Biblical quotations: "This hall was erected for the advancement of the arts and sciences and works of industry of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of Albert Prince Consort. The site was purchased with the proceeds of the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI. The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her Majesty Queen Victoria on the twentieth day of May MDCCCLXVII and it was opened by Her Majesty the Twenty Ninth of March in the year MDCCCLXXI. Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth peace."

Events[link]

The Hall has played host to over 150,000 different events and has been affectionately titled "The Nation's Village Hall".^[11] The first concert at the Hall was Arthur Sullivan's cantata, On Shore and Sea, which was performed on 1 May 1871.^[12][13]

Many events are promoted by the Hall themselves, whilst Raymond Gubbay promotes over 70 events a year, having brought a range of events since the early 1970s, including opera, ballet and classical music. Some events include classical and rock concerts, conferences, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, education, motor shows, marathons, ballet, opera and circus shows. It has hosted sporting events, including boxing, wrestling (including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London as well as UFC 38 (the first UFC event to be held in the UK) and tennis.^[14][15]

The climax of the Alfred Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much was filmed in the Royal Albert Hall.

The International Poetry Incarnation was held at the Hall on 11 June 1965. It attracted an audience of 7,000 people to readings and live and tape performances by a wide variety of figures, including Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs.

The psychedelic rock band Cream played two farewell concerts at the Hall on 26 November 1968 before they broke up. 37 years later, they reunited for a series of four shows at the Hall in May 2005, the success of which inspired a further series of concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York City in October 2005.

The original lineup of the Jimi Hendrix Experience gave their last European performances at the Hall on 18 and 24 February 1969. Footage was shot of the performances, but the Hendrix estate has yet to release it.

After Sandie Shaw won the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, the BBC hosted the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest at the Hall.

Led Zeppelin also performed a gig here during their 1970's United Kingdom Tour on January 9 1970.

Lata Mangeshkar, India's greatest playback singer performed her first ever international concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1974; this was the first time an Indian performed at the hall. Following its resounding success, she returned to the same venue in 1979, this time performing with the Wren Orchestra.

Miss World Pageant finals were held at the Hall from 1969 to 1988.

On 24 September 1969 Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed the classic rock Concerto for Group and Orchestra.

Les Miserables Celebrates its 10th Anniversary on October 8th, 1995 with a concert performed by the 'Dream Cast' led by the Original London & Broadway Jean Valjean Colm Wilkinson & Philip Quast as Javert Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert

The Corrs performed on 17 March 1998 as a St Patrick's Day Special. This was their first live concert in the UK, which was broadcast on the BBC and released on VHF titled The Corrs: Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Concert For George was held at Royal Albert Hall on November 29, 2002, the first anniversary of George Harrison's passing.

The American rock band The Killers performed two shows on 5 and 6 July 2009, that were recorded for the DVD Live From The Royal Albert Hall. The DVD was packaged with a CD and was released on 6 November of the same year and earned a rating of five stars and the "best rock dvd of the decade" by Starpulse.^[16]

Swedish prog-death metal band Opeth also filmed its 20th anniversary DVD In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, covering two sets: its breakthrough album, Blackwater Park, in its entirety, and a chronologically-arranged set of one song from each of its other eight albums.

On 22 September 2011 Adele filmed her DVD Live At The Royal Albert Hall.

On 2 October 2011, the Hall was used to broadcast the 25th anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera to cinemas across the UK - it was also the first time Phantom had been performed at the venue.^[17] Lloyd Webber, the original London cast including Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, and four previous actors of the titular character, among others, were in attendance - Brightman and the previous Phantoms (aside from Crawford) performed an encore.

Regular events[link]

BBC Proms[link]

A prom seen from the Circle.

The BBC Promenade Concerts, known as "The Proms" is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall. In 1942, following the destruction of the Queen's Hall in an air raid, the Hall was chosen as the new venue for the proms.^[18] In 1944 with increased danger to the hall, part of the proms were held in the Bedford Corn Exchange. Following the end of World War II the proms continued in the Hall and have done so annually ever summer since. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night. In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. Jiří Bělohlávek described The Proms as "the world's largest and most democratic musical festival" of all such events in the world of classical music festivals.^[19]

Proms is short for promenade concerts, a term which arose from the original practice of audience members promenading, or strolling, in some areas of the concert hall during the concert. Proms concert-goers, particularly those who stand, are sometimes described as "Promenaders", but are most commonly referred to as "Prommers".^[20]

Cirque du Soleil[link]

Cirque du Soleil has performed several of its shows at the Hall beginning in 1996 with Saltimbanco, a show which returned in 1997. In 1998 they had their UK première of Alegría and returned in 1999. After a few years away they returned in 2003 with Saltimbanco. Their European première of Dralion was held at the Hall in 2004 and returned in 2005. 2006 and 2007 saw the return of Alegría whilst 2008 saw the UK première of Varekai, which returned in 2010 marking 25 years of Cirque du Soleil. Quidam returned to London (but a first for this show at the Hall) in 2009, however Varekai returned in 2010. In January and February of 2011 and again in 2012 they presented Totem.

Festival of Remembrance[link]

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, is held annually the day before Remembrance Sunday.^[21]

Graduation ceremonies[link]

The Hall is used annually by the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London for graduation ceremonies. Kingston University also held its graduation ceremonies at the Hall until 2008, but have since relocated to the new Rose Theatre, Kingston upon its completion.

English National Ballet[link]

Since 1998 the English National Ballet has had several specially staged arena summer seasons in partnership with the Hall and Raymond Gubbay. These include Strictly Gershwin, June 2008 and 2011, Swan Lake in-the-round, June 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2010, Romeo & Juliet (Deane), June 2001 and 2005 and The Sleeping Beauty, April – June 2000.^[22]

Teenage Cancer Trust[link]

Starting in the year 2000 the Teenage Cancer Trust has held annual charity concerts (with the exception of 2001). They started as a one off event but have expanded over the years to a week or more of evenings events. Roger Daltrey of The Who has been intimately involved with the planning of the events.^[23]

Regular performers[link]

Eric Clapton is a regular performer the Hall, having played host to his concerts almost annually for over 20 years. It was also the venue for his band Cream's farewell concerts in 1968 and reunion shows in 2005. Clapton has cited it as his favourite venue to play in the world.^{[citation needed]} He also instigated the Concert for George, which was held at the Hall on 29 November 2002 to pay tribute to Clapton's life-long friend, former Beatle George Harrison.

Shirley Bassey has often sung at the Hall, usually as a special guest at high profile events. In 2007, Bassey performed in Fashion Rocks in aid of the Prince's Trust. On 30 March 2011, she sang at a gala celebrating the 80th birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev.^[24] She also performed at the Classical Brit Awards in May 2011, singing Goldfinger in tribute to the recently deceased composer John Barry.^[25] On 20 June 2011, Bassey returned to perform Diamonds Are Forever and Goldfinger, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as the climax to the memorial concert for John Barry.

Mislabellings[link]

The Hall from Prince Consort Road, showing the South Steps leading up to Door 12.

A famous and widely bootlegged concert by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester on 17 May 1966 was mistakenly labelled the "Royal Albert Hall Concert". In 1998, Columbia Records released an official recording, The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert, that maintains the erroneous title, but does include details of the actual concert location. Dylan actually did close his European tour at the hall on 26 and 27 May 1966; these were his last concerts before Dylan got into a motorcycle accident. It was several years until he toured again.

Another concert that was mislabelled as being at the Hall was by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR). An album by CCR entitled The Royal Albert Hall Concert was released in 1980. When Fantasy Records discovered that the show on the album actually took place at the Oakland Coliseum, it retitled the album The Concert.

Transport links[link]

Public transport access

London Buses	Royal Albert Hall 9, 10, 52, 360, 452
London Underground	Gloucester Road
	High Street Kensington
	Knightsbridge
	South Kensington

See also[link]

Ballet portal

• Albert Memorial
• Albertopolis
• List of concert halls

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Royal Albert Hall

• Official site with timeline
• Read a detailed historical record about the Hall
• Architecture of the Hall from the Royal Institute of British Architects
• Royal Albert Hall at Structurae
• Royal Albert Hall Survey of London entry
• Albert Hall (Victorian London)

Coordinates: 51°30′03.40″N 00°10′38.77″W / 51.500944°N 0.1774361°W / 51.500944; -0.1774361

Ludovico Einaudi
Ludovico Einaudi at Quirinal Palace in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Ludovico Einaudi
Born	(1955-11-23) 23 November 1955 (age 56) Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Genres	Classical, minimalist, film score
Occupations	Musician, sound designer, film score composer
Instruments	piano, synthesizer, keyboard
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Decca Records, Universal Music Group
Website	www.einaudiwebsite.com

Ludovico Einaudi OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ludoˈviːko eiˈnaudi]) (born 23 November 1955 in Turin, Piedmont) is an Italian pianist and composer.

Biography[link]

Einaudi was born in Turin, Italy. His mother played to him on the piano as a child. He began his musical training at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, gaining a diploma in composition in 1982. That same year, he studied with Luciano Berio and gained a scholarship to the Tanglewood Music Festival.

After studying at the Conservatory in Milan, and subsequently with Berio, he spent several years composing in traditional forms. In the mid-1980s he began to search for a more personal expression in a series of works for dance and multimedia, and later for piano. His music is ambient, meditative and often introspective, drawing on minimalism, world music, and contemporary pop. He has made a significant impact in the film world, with four international awards to his name.^{[citation needed]}

His father, Giulio Einaudi, was a publisher, and his grandfather, Luigi Einaudi, was President of Italy between 1948 and 1955. He currently resides on a vineyard in the Italian region of Piedmont.

Music[link]

	"Ludovico Einaudi – Primavera" noicon Extract from 2007 album "Divenire"
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Although Einaudi would prefer not to be labeled as any particular type of genre, he is sometimes referred to as a Minimalist. He says: "In general I don't like definitions, but 'Minimalist' is a term that means elegance and openness, so I would prefer to be called a Minimalist than something else." However, Einaudi's style differs from those of the Minimalism movement, and this attribution is likely more due to his work's sparse orchestration and simple melodies.

Einaudi's own words on the matter reflect this viewpoint, with Einaudi referring to Minimalism as "elegance and openness", despite its more formal definition as a musical movement to which he arguably does not belong.

Einaudi is signed to Sony Music Entertainment's classical music division, Sony Classical.

Einaudi's Due Tramonti was featured in the film I'm Still Here (2010) directed by Casey Affleck.

Einaudi's Nuvole Bianche was featured in the film Insidious (2010) directed by James Wan, the British TV-drama This Is England 86 and in the TV-series Derek (2012) directed by and starring Ricky Gervais.

Einaudi's Una Mattina and Fly were recently featured in a French success movie Intouchables (2011) directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano.

In June 2011, BBC Radio 1 Presenter Greg James started a campaign to get I Giorni in the top 40 singles chart. He mentioned that he found the piece therapeutic when he was studying in University. The first plays of the song got a phenomenal response from listeners which led to the song appearing in the charts

Most recently Einaudi's Divenire is featured in a Proctor & Gamble advertising campaign on Youtube in light of the 2012 London Olympics and Mother's Day in United States.^[1]

Works[link]

• Time Out (1988)
• Stanze (1992, harp)
• Salgari (1995)
• Le Onde (1996, piano)
• Eden Roc (1999, piano and strings)
• I Giorni (2001, piano)
• Diario Mali (2003; piano, harp)
• Una Mattina (2004; piano, cello)
• Divenire (2007; piano, string quartet)
• Nightbook (2009; piano, electronic)

Recordings[link]

• 1988 Time Out – BMG Ricordi
• 1992 Stanze – BMG Ricordi
• 1995 Salgari – BMG Ricordi
• 1996 Le Onde – BMG Ricordi^[2]
• 1998 Fuori dal Mondo – BMG Ricordi
• 1998 Ultimi Fuochi – BMG Ricordi
• 1999 Eden Roc – BMG Ricordi
• 2001 I Giorni – BMG Ricordi
• 2001 Luce dei miei Occhi- BMG Ricordi
• 2002 Dr. Zhivago – BMG Ricordi
• 2003 La Scala Concert 03.03.03 – BMG Ricordi
• 2003 Le parole di mio padre – BMG Ricordi
• 2003 Diario Mali (with Ballaké Sissoko) – Ponderosa IRD
• 2004 Echoes: The Einaudi Collection
• 2004 Una Mattina – Ponderosa Music and Art/Decca/Sony Classical
• 2006 Divenire – Ponderosa Music and Art/Decca
• 2009 Cloudland^[3] – Ponderosa Music and Art
• 2009 Nightbook – Ponderosa Music and Art/Decca
• 2010 The Royal Albert Hall Concert – Ponderosa Music and Art
• 2011 Islands: Essential Einaudi – Decca (UMO)

Film and television scores[link]

• 1988: Treno di panna (Director: Andrea De Carlo)
• 1994: Da qualche parte in città (Director: Michele Sordillo)
• 1996: Acquario (Director: Michele Sordillo)
• 1998: Aprile (Director: Nanni Moretti)
• 1998: Giorni dispari (Director: Dominick Tambasco)
• 1999: Fuori dal mondo (Director: Giuseppe Piccioni)
• 2000: La vita altrui (Director: Michele Sordillo)
• 2000: Un delitto impossibile (Director: Antonio Luigi Grimaldi)
• 2001: Le parole di mio padre (Director: Francesca Comencini)
• 2001: Alexandria (Director: Maria Iliou)
• 2002: Luce dei miei occhi (Director: Giuseppe Piccioni) – Italian music award for best film score
• 2002: Doctor Zhivago (TV mini-series, Director: Giacomo Campiotti)
• 2004: Sotto falso nome (Director: Roberto Andò) – Prize for the best film music at Avignon Film Festival 2004
• 2004: Mission: Saturn
• 2006: This Is England (Director: Shane Meadows)^[4]
• 2010: This Is England '86 (Director: Shane Meadows)^[4]
• 2010: Stargate Universe – Pathogen
• 2010: Sangandaan – Landas ng Buhay
• 2010: I'm Still Here (Director: Casey Affleck)
• 2010: Das Ende ist mein Anfang - German film
• 2010: Black Swan (Director: Darren Aronofosky) (Trailer)
• 2011: Elena - Mysterio ng Kahapon
• 2011: BBC - background music to minute of silence for recent racing deaths before Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix of India (October 30)

• 2011: This Is England '88 (Director: Shane Meadows)^[5]
• 2011: Intouchables - (Director: Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano)
• 2012: J. Edgar - (Director: Clint Eastwood)
• 2012: Derek (Pilot episode) - (Director: Ricky Gervais)
• 2012: Proctor and Gamble commercial for the Olympics 2012

Numerous episodes of the BBC's Top Gear

• Year of creation unknown: National Basketball Association (NBA) of America, Where Will Amazing Happen This Year (Magic Johnson Sky Hook)^[6]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• The Independent review Album: Ludovico Einaudi, Nightbook (Decca) (16 October 2009), accessed 19 February 2010
• Voce di Italia review of Ludovico Einaudi – The Nightbook Tour by Daniele Orlandi (13 February 2010), accessed 19 February 2010 (Italian)
• Romagna Noi review Ravenna – Ludovico Einaudi all'Alighieri by Daniele Orlandi (8 February 2010), accessed 19 February 2010 (Italian)

External links[link]

• Composer's website
• Chester Novello biographical page
• Ludovico Einaudi at the Internet Movie Database
• Ponderosa biographical page, accessed 19 February 2010
• (Italian) A brief critical essay on Ludovico Einaudi
• History and Mystery: The piano spheres of Ludovico Einaudi, Bluefat interview

Rod Stewart
Stewart performing in Zaragoza, Spain, 5 November 2006.
Background information
Birth name	Roderick David Stewart
Also known as	"Rod the Mod"
Born	(1945-01-10) 10 January 1945 (age 67) Highgate, North London, England[1]
Genres	Rock, pop, blues rock, soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active	1964–present
Labels	Mercury, Warner Bros., RCA,[2] J
Associated acts	Shotgun Express, The Steampacket, The Jeff Beck Group, Faces
Website	RodStewart.com

Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945)^[3] is a British singer-songwriter, born and raised in North London, England, and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English^[4] ancestry.

With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album). His work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces influenced heavy metal genres.^[5][6]

With his career in its fifth decade, Stewart has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling artists of all time.^[7] In the UK, he has had six consecutive number one albums, and his tally of 62 hit singles include 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position.^[8] He has had 16 top ten singles in the U.S, with four of these reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists".^[9] He was voted at #33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time,^[10] and #59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time.^[11] As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and was inducted a second time, as a member of Faces, in April 2012.^[12][13]

Early life[link]

Roderick David Stewart was born at 507 Archway Road, Highgate, North London, the youngest of the five children of Robert Stewart and Elsie Gilbart.^[14] His father was Scottish and had been a master builder in Leith, Edinburgh, while Elsie was English and had grown up in Upper Holloway in North London.^[15] Married in 1928,^[15] the couple had two sons and two daughters while living in Scotland, then they moved to Highgate.^[14] Stewart came after an eight-year gap following his youngest sibling; he was born at home during World War II, half an hour after a German V-2 missile warhead fell on the local Highgate police station.^[14][15]

The family was neither affluent nor poor, and by all accounts Stewart was a spoiled child as the youngest;^[14][15] Stewart has called his childhood "fantastically happy".^[15] He had an undistinguished record at Highgate Primary School and failed the eleven plus exam.^[16] He then attended the William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School in Hornsey.^[17] His father retired from the building trade at age 65, then opened a newsagent's shop on the Archway Road when Stewart was in his early teens; the family lived over the shop.^[14][15] Stewart's main hobby was railway modelling.^[18]

The Stewart family was mostly focused on football;^[19] Robert had played on a local amateur side and managed some as well, and one of Stewart's earliest memories were the pictures of Scottish players such as George Young and Gordon Smith that his brothers had on the wall.^[20][21] Rod was the most talented footballer in the Stewart family and was a strong supporter of Arsenal F.C..^[20][22] Combining natural athleticism with near-reckless aggression, he became captain of the school football team and played for Middlesex Schoolboys as centre-half.^[20]

The family were also great fans of the singer Al Jolson and would sing and play his hits.^[19][23] Stewart collected his records and saw his films, read books about him, and was influenced by his performing style and attitude towards his audience.^[19][21][24] His introduction to rock and roll was hearing Little Richard's 1956 hit "The Girl Can't Help It" and seeing Bill Haley & His Comets in concert.^[23] His father bought him a guitar in January 1959; the first song he learned was the folk tune "It Takes a Worried Man to Sing a Worried Song" and the first record he bought was Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody".^[18] In 1960, he joined a skiffle group with schoolfriends called the Kool Kats, playing Lonnie Donegan and Chas McDevitt hits.^[18][25]

Stewart left school at age 15^[26] and worked briefly as a silk screen printer.^[27] Spurred on by his father, his ambition was to become a professional footballer.^[22][26] In 1961 he joined on as an apprentice with Brentford F.C.,^[26][28][29] a Third Division club at the time.^[30] However, he disliked the early morning travel to West London and the daily assignment to clean the first team's boots.^[26] His playing effectiveness at centre-half was hindered by his slight build — 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) but only 9 stone (130 lb; 57 kg) — and he pushed himself so much that he sometimes vomited at the side of the pitch.^[26] After up to two months of play in pre-season fixtures,^{[nb 1]} Stewart left the team, to the great disappointment of his father.^[26] Stewart later reflected that: "I had the skill but not the enthusiasm."^[26] Regarding possible career options, Stewart concluded, "Well, a musician's life is a lot easier and I can also get drunk and make music, and I can't do that and play football. I plumped for music ... They're the only two things I can do actually: play football and sing."^[19][26]

Music career[link]

1961–63: Early efforts[link]