Diving into the haunting, chaotic world of Dario Argento’s Inferno means entering a very peculiar corner of Italian horror cinema: dream logic, alchemy, saturated colours, impossible architecture, and music that seems to open a trapdoor beneath the floor.

The film, released in 1980, is the second chapter in Argento’s Three Mothers trilogy, following Suspiria. Where Suspiria is inseparable from Goblin’s legendary score, Inferno takes a different musical path: its soundtrack was composed and performed by Keith Emerson, the keyboard giant of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The result is less rock-band ritual and more feverish symphonic nightmare — piano, organ, orchestral drama, progressive-rock tension, and that unmistakable Emerson sense of danger.

This piece is a real beast to play.

I had only recently returned to the piano after a very long break, so this performance also became a small personal challenge: not only revisiting Emerson’s music, but doing it from memory, with all the risks that implies. There may be a few wobbly moments in the tempo, and perhaps the occasional stray note, but the spirit of the piece is all there — raw, nervous, and descending straight into the abyss.

It is still a work in progress, but I could not resist sharing it.

Sound Engine

For the sound, I used Modartt Pianoteq 9, showcasing its physically modelled rendition of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand with the Sombre preset.

That choice felt particularly appropriate for this performance: dark, cinematic, and responsive enough to follow the sudden changes of weight and atmosphere in Emerson’s writing. Pianoteq’s physical modelling also makes the instrument feel alive under the fingers, especially in pieces where dynamics, resonance, and decay are part of the drama.

The audio and the performance are completely unabridged: no edits, no splicing, no corrections — just the live playing and the direct sound of Pianoteq.