Wednesday 19 October 2016
Famous pianist plays on ‘melting’ glacier in stunning video
Beautiful, sad music emanates from a floating platform amidst collapsing glaciers. Famed Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi took to this temporary stage to provide a soundtrack to the plight of the Arctic Circle. “It is important that we understand the importance of the Arctic, stop the process of destruction and protect it,” the composer said.
In a stirring video created by Greenpeace, Ludovico Einaudi plays on a platform floating in the Arctic Ocean. Einaudi’s music provides a soundtrack to the Wahlenbergbreen glacier’s early melting. The haunting music shows the peaceful, almost contemplative, setting of the arctic ocean as well as the chaos and suddenness of glacier melt and collapse.
The music video has struck a chord with global audiences, crossing the 300,000 view mark in less than 2 days. The attention is crucial to protecting these fragile and globally important waters.
The Arctic helps regulate weather for the entire planet, features immense bio diversity, and should be protected for future generations, according to Greenpeace, which organized the concert. Despite its size and global importance, the Arctic waters are among the least protected and regulated in the world due in part to the complex sovereignty issues in the region. The video is meant to support a petition to get world leaders to protect the region.
More than 7.5 million people have signed Greenpeace’s petition to create a protected sanctuary in the international waters of the Arctic. The video is designed for a last public push behind the proposal before representatives from 15 nations and the EU meet in Spain this week to discuss it.
The 15 nations and the EU are part of the OSPAR, an international commission formed to coordinate protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. The commission’s mandate covers a portion of the Arctic Circle.
The proposal in front of the commission includes a territory equivalent in size to the United Kingdom. While only 10% of the long-term goal Greenpeace is working toward, this sizeable sanctuary would be a major step forward.
The haunting composition from Einaudi is the perfect illustration of the plight facing the Arctic. Famed for his soundtracks including films like Black Swan, his composition in the video captures both the pensive quiet of the Arctic and the cataclysmic melting going on each day.
“Being here has been a great experience. I could see the purity and fragility of this area with my own eyes and interpret a song I wrote to be played upon the best stage in the world,” the composer told reporters.
The Arctic waters are under increasing threats from climate change and human activity in the region. As ice melts and recedes, new waterways and fishing areas have opened up spurring a significant increase in boat traffic, which brings its own destructive impacts to the fragile ecosystem.
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