It was a double celebration at The O2 as Ludovico Einaudi's debut performance at the arena also marked promoter Stuart Galbraith's 100th show at the London venue.
Einaudi was presented with London’s The O2's First Time Award in recognition of his inaugural appearance on Friday (10 July), which was the Italian composer's biggest UK show in his 45-year career.
The honour followed the presentation of the Innovation In Music award to Einaudi at the O2 Silver Clef Awards at the Royal Albert Hall the previous evening.
His debut at The O2 – the first of his two concerts at the venue last weekend – also coincided with KMJ Entertainment Group’s CEO Stuart Galbraith's 100th show at the arena, triggering the presentation of the venue’s Gold Brick Award.
The Gold Brick will now sit backstage on The O2’s Promoter Wall Of Fame, which honours major milestones at the arena for event organisers.
Both Ludovico and I have enjoyed careers spanning over 45 years in the entertainment industry, and it’s incredibly special to be able to share this this milestone evening with him
Stuart Galbraith, KMJ Entertainment Group
Galbraith said: "What an honour and a privilege to be awarded a Gold Brick on the Promoter Wall Of Fame, and for it to be triggered by Ludovico’s debut performance at London’s The O2 Arena. Both Ludovico and I have enjoyed careers spanning over 45 years in the entertainment industry, and it’s incredibly special to be able to share this this milestone evening with him."
KMJ's promoting subsidiary Kilimanjaro Live has been at the forefront of taking classical and modern classical performance to the masses.
Alongside Einaudi, it has also taken Lord Of The Rings Orchestral into larger venues in both the UK and Australia, and recently launched an arena tour for Royal Albert Hall Official Organist Anna Lapwood.
The company has a longstanding relationship with Andrea Bocelli, and has worked with German promoter Semmel on both Hans Zimmer Live and The World Of Hans Zimmer. Additionally, it has staged multiple sold out solo piano recitals with pianist Lang Lang and cis reating and producing a theatre concert tour this coming autumn for Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds.
PHOTO (L-R): David Jones (Serious), Stuart Galbraith (KMJ), Ludovico Einaudi, Marc Saunders (The O2), Titti Santini (Ponderosa), Stefania Nepi (Ponderosa)
