Launching La Dolce Vita Orient Express: Live Music at Mortimer House, London
Updated: Sep 7
Mortimer House, a private members' club in the heart of London, hosted an evening where music, nostalgia and luxury travel converged. The occasion was the official launch of La Dolce Vita' Orient Express, ahead of the new luxury train entering service, an evening of elegance, romance and Italian charm, accentuated by the Harbour Strings Trio, represented by Marina Simioni Music.
Italian Film Scores by the Harbour Strings Trio
The Harbour Strings Trio took the audience straight back to the golden age of Italian cinema. Their set drew on the film scores of Armando Trovajoli, Piero Piccioni and Ennio Morricone — melodies that carry the romance of mid-century Italy in a few bars, and that a room of invited guests recognised without needing to be told what they were hearing.
A Celebration of Italian Craft
Giampaolo Ottazzi, General Manager of Orient Express Hotels in Rome and Venice, spoke about the train and its itineraries, which will travel through 14 regions and 131 cities across Italy. Its most remarkable feature is one few guests expected: the train can be dismantled and ferried across the Strait of Messina to Sicily, then reassembled to continue its journey, a first in the history of luxury rail travel.
The evening was more than a launch. It was a celebration of Italian culture, history and the enduring appeal of travelling slowly and beautifully, and guests left Mortimer House with the music still going.
For more from the train itself, follow @ladolcevitaorientexpress.
Music for Brand Launches and Press Events
A launch is not a wedding. The music has to carry a room of press and invited guests through arrivals, speeches and conversation without ever competing with any of it and it has to say something about the brand before anyone has spoken.
For La Dolce Vita that meant Italian film scores played by a string trio: recognisable enough to place the audience in mid-century Italy, quiet enough to talk over, and entirely in keeping with what the train is selling. We build sets that way for launches, press days and corporate evenings across London and Italy, brief first, repertoire second.
If you are planning a launch and would like music that does more than fill the silence, we would be glad to talk.
Photo credit @photobenphoto
