Mendelssohn: Piano Works

An impressive debut recording from this 16-year-old Korean pianist. He’s played the piano since he was seven and now attends the École Normale de Musique in Paris, where he has clearly made quite an impression. Mendelssohn’s piano music needs a crystalline technique, sprightly fingers, and a wide range of colors. Kim has all of these in abundance and proves a wonderful guide. He has the full measure of the compact *Variations, Op. 82*, which really sing, and he plays the *Rondo capriccioso* with genuine tenderness, while the *Fantasie, Op. 28* builds to its dazzling finale with panache. An elegant pianist.