His is the story of a man confronted by his oldest adversary: gravity. Through his music, Ludovico Einaudi escaped the pull of politics and family, which are so significant in the Piedmont region of Italy, where he grew up. Yet as his compositions came to win over ever larger audiences, the composer had to face other burdens: those that, inevitably, come with success. At 69 years old, he is set to take to the stage on Saturday night at Paris' massive La Défense Arena, just months after he packed out the Accor Arena and the Seine Musicale (twice) – and that's only looking at the Paris region. In such vast venues, what remains of the youthful spirit that led him to turn his back on the Einaudi family, one of the most respected family lines in Italy?

The musician met with Le Monde in his family's stronghold, Dogliani, a small town of barely 5,000 residents, located 75 kilometers south of Turin, the city where he grew up and still lives. His country home overlooks a landscape replete with all the softness and roundness that is so typical of Piedmont: a handful of hamlets, in the shadows of centuries-old church steeples, nestled against hillsides covered in endless forests and vineyards. This is where Einaudi spent his childhood holidays, and where, years later, he set up his recording studio. "With my partner Paola, we renovated it during the pandemic, respecting the simplicity of the place," he said, just as simply.

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