Taking us to New York City

Pianist Somi Kim

“…one moment fireworks, the next laid-back blues.”

Pianist Somi Kim is excited about making her Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra debut this week as soloist in George Gershwin’s jazz-infused Piano Concerto in F. “I’m not a jazz pianist,” she says, “but I adore jazz, it’s my weekend jam. When I lived in London I liked being in the darkly-lit vibe of places like Ronny Scott’s. This Concerto is the perfect marriage between classical music and jazz.”

Kim returned to New Zealand in 2020 to join the NZTrio after seven years in London building a busy free-lance European career. She describes herself as a “collaborating pianist” and continues to work extensively with other musicians and singers.

She has played Gershwin’s famous Rhapsody in Blue but this is Kim’s first performance of his Piano Concerto which she agrees is truly a collaboration between orchestra and soloist.  “Both parts are perfectly integrated into the texture,” she says. “It’s an improvisatory style that’s not contrived at all. After the orchestral tutti at the beginning the piano comes in with a bluesy improvisation. And the whole piece is jam-packed; one moment fireworks, the next laid-back blues.”  

Gershwin, who was soloist in the work’s premiere in 1925, initially called it the “New York” Concerto. Kim is sure the work will transport the audience to the Big Apple. “It takes us to that world where the colours and rhythms are completely different. This Concerto has such a lot of swagger and then in the slow movement it’s seductive and playful – and audacious! I hope everyone listening will enjoy the fun we’re having on stage.”  

The APO concert, called “Rediscovery”, will be conducted by Holly Mathieson, another New Zealander making her mark in the UK and someone Kim has long admired. The programme includes Classical and Romantic symphonies by 18th century black composer, Joseph Bologne, and Frenchwoman Louise Farrenc, who had a big European reputation in the 19th century.

Kim has another collaborator for her APO debut, fashion designer Trelise Cooper. The pianist and her NZ Trio colleagues are champions of the New Zealand fashion industry and Kim says it’s “very cool” that Cooper will dress her for this occasion.   

“Rediscovery” Music by Bologne, Gershwin and Farrenc Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Holly Mathieson (conductor). Somi Kim (pianist) June 17, 2021 broadcast live by RNZ Concert

This article was first published in the NZ Listener in the June 12, 2021 issue