Pianist Alessandro Martire spent years convincing local officials to let him play while floating on the glittering blue waters of Lake Como in northern Italy, but when the show — called “Floating Waves” — finally came to pass, the internationally famous resort town clearly was meant for such a spectacle.
Pictures from the first concert look like something out of a sweeping romantic epic— with Martire sitting before his custom-crafted, almost futuristic Waves piano, designed by Italian architect Claudio Bargna from the town of Cantù, known for its artisanal furniture.
More than 5,000 people watched from the shore in 2020. During subsequent performances, spectators took in the music from boats and rafts on the water.
“I take inspiration from these elements — mountains, lakes, oceans — to create music,” Martire, 32, said in a video interview from his home by Lake Como a week before his appearance Sunday at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Los Angeles. “People enjoy the music in these places, and when I perform in a natural landscape, music elevates the moment.”
The “Floating Waves” shows led Martire to found a biannual event, the Lake Endless Joy Festival, which showcases music, art and cultural programming by Italian and international artists, set in immersive locations throughout the Lake Como region. Some young composers perform at iconic lakeside venues, others appear in lesser-known spaces worthy of discovery — think a sunrise concert in a hidden villa. Martire said he often helps artists create work that in is dialogue with the natural and historical context of each location.
Tapping into the power of a particular space or place drives Martire’s musical process. He has a played on a snowy hillside in the Alps, in an Australian desert at sunset, atop the Duomo in Milan and in Charyn Canyon of Kazakhstan.
His Waves piano has both acoustic and digital settings, the latter best suited for outdoor performances. The piano can’t be transported to the U.S., so in L.A. he’ll use a traditional piano to play alongside the city’s all-female Orchid Quartet in a visually immersive show filled with projections.
Another Waves piano is being made for use in North America, Martire said, adding that his home base will remain Lake Como for now, but he hopes to spend quite a bit of time in California. His music can best be described as neoclassical, with pop and electronic elements — and a dash of ambient smoothness. The result is cinematic, and soundtracks are part of Martire’s repertoire. His music was recently used in the documentary “Ottocentonovantasei Nuvole,” directed by Andrea Basile, which traces a pandemic journey across Italy from Clusone to Palermo.
Martire learned piano at a young age and began composing at 15. His mother was a chef and his father worked for the national railway, but music was omnipresent in the house. Martire developed a love for Chopin and also for the work of soundtrack composers including John Williams and Ennio Morricone.
He continued his studies in Boston at Berklee College of Music and began to refine his sound when he came home to Italy. That sound became fully realized with the creation of the Waves piano in 2020.
The distinctive piano, he said, “represents my music, nature and the movement of different cultures.”
Martire finds inspiration for his compositions in the many places he has traveled and is always looking for the next stunning natural vista in which to perform.
His California dream venue? Joshua Tree National Park.
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