On her debut solo album, Miroirs, pianist HyeJin Kim embarks on a journey of self-reflection through music. The solo-piano repertoire by Gershwin, Ravel, and Granados provides a deliberately intimate experience, in which Kim shares career-shaping works that helped define her as a musician - and as a person. Her delicacy, precision, and passion for the music come through in each piece, which as a whole crafts a narrative that interweaves the concepts of art, life, and belonging...

Classical music lovers who favour solo piano recordings will get a lot of enjoyment out of HyeJin Kim's debut album. You can hear 100 different recordings of a piano piece and one thing is guaranteed, you can always hear how in tune the performer is with the piece. A lot of love is poured out through these 9 tracks (1 hr, 18 min, 04 sec), with Kim never rushing or adding over the top forte or fortissimo when it's not required.

On reflection, Kim has a fluid, laid back style that washes over the listener smoothly. 'La Valse' feels almost effortless at time, while being frantic and overbearing at others. This all helps to deliver a beautiful listening experience.

I was even impressed with the incredible performance on Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' - a piece I've never been overly fond of, but Kim's performance here is like no other solo piano rendition I've ever heard... and I loved it.

An incredibly well produced album by a wonderfully talented artist.

Track listing:

Maurice Ravel
01. Miroirs M.43: I. Noctuelles (4:56)
02. Miroirs M.43: II. Oiseaux tristes (4:08)
03. Miroirs M.43: III. Une barque sur l’océan (8:03)
04. Miroirs M.43: IV. Alborada del gracioso (7:00)
05. Miroirs M.43: V. La vallée des cloches (6:15)

Enrique Granados
06. Goyescas, Op. 11: El Amor y la muerte (13:23)

Maurice Ravel
07. La Valse M.72 (12:31)

Enrique Granados
08. Goyescas, Op. 11: Quejas, o La Maja y el ruiseñor (6:51)

George Gershwin
09. Rhapsody in Blue (15:01)

9

Darren Rea