Reviews Interview
'While Mari Kodama‘s accompaniment was beyond subtle, she was more than able to thunder away in Debussy's cello sonata. She and Adrian Brendel delivered a combative performance whose middle pizzicato movement they transformed into a grotesque nocturne.'
Saale-Zeitung, Bad Kissinger Sommer, Klangwerkstatt
26 June 2007
'Raised in Germany, Japanese pianist Mari Kodama didn't shy away from risk while playing the viciously difficult piano part: she exhibited a rousing drive in the jumps and chord chains, her rapid motor functions purring like a precisely adjusted machine. Conversely, in the pensive moments she took a sensible approach. While the orchestra wished to drift off during the second movement into airy-smooth reverie, Kodama assured a firm ground. And even when Prokofiev played around with impressionistic Debussy-like sounds, Kodama persisted with a rational insistence that sensitively traced Prokofiev’s sound-painting but with grave colours—all while being accompanied attentively by Bäumer and the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra.'
Osnabrücker Zeitung, Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2
12 September 2007
'In her excellent interpretation [of the Beethoven Sonatas] Mari Kodama linked playing lightness with psychological intuition. With every note she expresses her very own notion of the compositions. Differentiated pianissimo sound samples were developed into a dynamic construction, into her very own architecture.'
Amberger Zeitung
March 2007
'Three of the best-known of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas are beautifully played on this new recording…Kodama easily accommodates the manifold difficulties of the Appassionata’s finale with clean articulation and consistent beautiful tone.'
Robert Benson, classicalcdreview.com
'Same as on her previous album the Japanese pianist enchants with her vigorous, precise, rigorously detailed approach which at the same time always shows in a convincing way the message behind the notes carefully balancing the big lines and beautiful details…Here we see the ideal mixture of music and technique'.
Attila Csampai, Fono Forum
'Her playing is lucid and straightforward, conspicuously bombast-free. The slow movements are bright and lyrical, and without trying to reinvent the wheel, she subtly emphasizes the haunting beauty of the finale to the 'Tempest' Sonata (No. 17) and the good-natured energy of 'The Hunt.''
Mary Kunz Goldman, The Buffalo News
'I know that after listening to sonatas 16 – 18 on the most recent issue, PTC 5186 063, I will probably want to go back and hear if her previous installments are nearly as impressive as this one. ..She may not have a name that registers, nor record for a label that is able to plaster her (very pretty) face on billboards across the continents, but her playing, coupled with the excellent, rich sound….Immeasurably enjoyable.'
Jens F. Laurson, Ionarts
'Kodama (like Kempff, in his more Classical manner) rescues this music from self-parody, and the 'Moonlight” is the best thing here: a real chase through a stormy night on the moor, Brontë style. An unusual coupling, but further evidence for the seriousness with which the current generation is re-appraising the greatest Western music we have.'
Paul Ingram, Fanfare
'The piano sound is exemplary, especially as a piece like the G Major Sonata exploits contrasting registers in quick succession, and the high trills and bass tones neither ping nor shatter….Kodama meets Beethoven's hurdles with a healthy, driven panache, a real sense of brio throughout.'
Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition
'Her 'Appasionata' …is even more fiery than Pollini’s, with her Steinway sounding particularly masculine in this Dutch recording. She also plays Op. 53 ('Waldstein'), whose prestissimo Rondo holds no terrors for her and Op. 81a ('Les adieux') whose C-minor farewell movement is most expressive in her hands. This is one of those 'Super Audio CDs' that works fine on a conventional player.'
T. Hashimoto, The San Francisco Examiner
September, 2003
'…this is a very full-bodied sound - marvellously weighted in the bass- and simply presented'
Ivor Humphreys, Gramophone
awards issue 2003
'…this is one of the best Beethoven Sonata recordings I’ve ever heard! Ms. Kodama’s playing is superb throughout – her timing, phrasing and intonation are absolutely drop-dead gorgeous – every aspect of the playing here is absolutely of the highest order. The recorded sound is every bit the match – this may be the very best recording of solo piano music I own, and the multichannel SACD offers a most convincing illusion of the piano right there in the room.'
Tom Gibbs, Audiophile Audition
September 2003
'Perfect Piano Sound. Almost better than live'
A. Scampai, Stereoplay
August 2003
'There is a feline grace to her phrasing'
Phil Muse, Atlanta Audio Society
October 2003
'Catchy is the very differentiated piano pallet of Mari Kodama: subtle, gracious with a lot of sparkling-sensitive details. Her virtuosity possesses a poetic calm, but shines with every note..'
Luister
May 2004
'Mari Kodama who numbers Brendel and Tatiana Nikolaeva among her teachers, is an impressive soloist happy to note-spin with all the required ease and facility in the Loewe and to provide a good deal more in the Chopin.'
Bryce Morrison, Gramophone
April 2004
'Immediately at bar 1 the prejudice disappears. The way in which in a modest and courteous manner the musical thoughts are presented shows a refined ability to compose for the piano.'
Stephen Westra, Klassieke Zaken
'The recording was made direct to DSD only last year in Moscow and is a clever pairing of two super virtuoso piano concertos back to back. The focus of the music and the sound is directly on the piano soloist and Kodama shines brilliantly......The surround mix is very natural and involving in its capturing the ambience of the concert hall.'
John Sunier, Audiophile Audition
'Aided and ably abetted by Kent Nagano and the Russian National Orchestra, the young formidably equipped Japanes pianist Mari Kodama has a lot of fun with the concerto, especially in its delightful, slightly cracked brained finale.'
Jim Svejda, KUSC CD Reviews
info@marikodama.com
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