Recording Reviews

Beethoven: Op. 78, 79, 14/1, 14/2, 49/1, 49/2

‘Kodama is widely experienced and her performances of sonatas she calls ‘lyrical islands’ are graceful, fluent and musically transparent. Everything proceeds in a faultless flow of sound and in this sense her credentials are impeccable. Never bearing down heavily on the music, she always allows Beethoven his own voice.’
Gramophone, March 2011

‘Kodama immediately earns the listener’s attention with a poised and well-observed account of the first movement of the G major Sonata, Op. 78. The following Andante is made limpidly expressive, and a nimble and truculent finale, in which Kodama’s tempo and dynamic variances are arresting and convincing, rounds the work off. This sets the pattern for a very enjoyable recital during which Kodama unfailingly judges things to a nicety. She finds depth of utterance at the opening of the F sharp work, and then her measured speed for the Allegro (here very much ‘ma non troppo’) is very affecting. Throughout, what really comes across is her affection for the music, her wish to give it time so that we may enjoy its shape, harmonies and details. She has the imagination and confidence to point things up without exaggeration and to reveal just how much there is in these seemingly slight works, an abundance of invention and development thereof.’
Colin Anderson, International Record Review November 2010

‘Kodama is equipped to deliver as few pianists on the present scene are, include style, sensitivity to nuance, the ability to discern when to provide a lighter touch and when to apply a bolder characterization, the ability to let the individual melodic line sing forth in all its glory or subside into one of those Beethoven silences that can be more eloquent than sound.’
Dr. Phil Muse
Audio Video Club of Atlanta, October 2010

Beethoven: Piano concerti 1-2, Kent Nagano, DSO, Analekta

‘We are not exactly short of recordings of these works, and in a crowded market, for a small label and a relatively unknown pianist the competition is stiff. But the performances from all concerned are out of the top drawer and the disc, unusually, presents the concertos in the order in which they were composed (…). Miss Kodama plays the Second concerto with a delightfully light Mozartian touch, changing to a fuller tone for the weightier First concerto. (…) In all, a disc that brings a fresh lick of paint to these two evergreen works.’
Classic FM, August 2009

Uplifting
‘The fresh notion of playing, the agility and intensity of Mari Kodama and the DSO under Kent Nagano is truly formidable. (…) The soloist takes up the impulse, and with striking sound, clearly phrased, she develops a coherence; with its saturated, dreamy gravity the second movement comes like fully captured for the first time whereas the lively Rondo is a hommage to spontaneous art of figuration. (…) A completion of the concerti would be a gain – an unpretentious, impulsive Beethoven style like this is always worth listening to.’
Fono Forum, August 2009

‘Mari Kodama is endowed with astonishing virtuosity, self assurance and control. This reminded me of Glenn Gould when his limitless ability, boarding on arrogance, could stand in the way the music. As these performances unfold I was persuaded that she is offering genuine musical insights with a personal touch that is quite appealing.About eight minutes into the first movement of the first concerto, Beethoven’s genius is manifested using simple means for the unfolding drama of the music. How these simple passages are played is one of the critical measures of artistic insight. No reservations here nor with the inner world of the slow movement. The third movement, taken at a brisk pace, is exhilarating. Kodama’s style is perfectly akin to the second concerto. Her no nonsense, clear approach suits this work perfectly. Sparkling throughout and as stylistically satisfying as any I know of. It will be quite interesting to hear the other three concertos as they may require less of the sparkling pianism and more heavyweight musicianship. Odds are she’ll make it brilliantly.’
thewholenote.com, 1 May 2009

‘The beauty of this piano-playing sneaks up on you. (…) One telling example of her over-arching view is the consistency of her sforzandos; they never come crashing down, as one is used to hearing in Beethoven, but rather land with all the notes evenly revealed and intact, still loud and even biting, but not clangy… The very idea that someone can still play this music and introduce a new perspective is remarkable enough.’
Fanfare Magazine, May/June 2009

‘Ms. Kodama brings a canny, graceful style to these early – though iconoclastic – works of Beethoven, a graded, assiduous sense of rhythm and tempered dynamics.’
Audiophile Audition, 23 December 2008

Beethoven: Sonatas op. 2/1-3, Pentatone classics

‘Young Japanese pianist Mari Kodama continues her recordings of Beethoven’s piano sonatas with this issue of the three of Op. 2. Already she has recorded three SACDs for Pentatone containing nine other sonatas. Excellent performances all, and very well recorded with larger than life surround sound.’
classicalcdreview.com, February 2009

Beethoven: Sonatas op. 31/1-3, Pentatone classics

Ideal balance
‘Japanese pianist Mari Kodama is only the fourth woman to take a chance on the complete recording of Beethoven’s sonatas. Yet the first two CDs were of sensational quality, now we have to consider the recording of sonatas Nos. 16, 17 and 18 as superior. Mari Kodama masters the balance of head and heart so every note, every measure appears plausible and genuine. Plus her talent to let Beethoven’s music pulsate and ‘swing’, so that the listener directly participates in the musical event. In the slow movements of sonatas Nos. 16 and 17 great sincerity prevails which Kodama avails herself for musical introspection. Sonata No. 18 ‘The Hunt’ lives on incomparable agility and a powerful yet beautiful and shaded keystrokes, making this Beethoven unique. Mari Kodama is on the way to present a modern, timeless recording of Beethoven’s piano sonatas which can claim the title reference recording already now.’
Pizzicato, August 2006

Beethoven: Sonatas opp. 27/2, 7, 13, PentaTone classics

‘… Mari Kodama has a colourful, sensitive and transparent view on the Sonatas. And suddenly it sounds exciting and new, even the Moonlight Sonata and the Pathétique. From the long and interesting op. 4/7 she makes an exhilarating play of joy and sadness.’
Piano, March/April 2005

‘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.’
Fono Forum, Oktober 2004

‘… I have to think Mari Kodama, who released two CDs of Beethoven sonatas before this one, would be an exception. 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.’
Buffalo News, 8 September 2006

‘… This lady also plays fabulous Beethoven. With an air of authority yet a delicate touch, Kodama plays with passion and fire. Despite the similarities between the Sanata in G and the Sonata in E flat, Kodama offers clean and concise readings played with the air of a great artist. (…) Please do check out these releases. The playing is truly excellent and the sound is absolutely to die for.’
HiFi Magazine, October 2006

‘… In her brilliant interpretation of these works [Beethoven sonatas], Mari Kodama combined technical lightness with psychological intuition – and so she expressed the composer’s very own perception with every single note. Differenciated pianissimo sound patterns developed into dynamic constructions, into a very personal architecture. …’
Amberger Zeitung, 12 March 2007

Beethoven: Sonatas, Pentatone classics

‘Mari Kodama’s playing is marked by musical matureness, naturalness, sensitiviy and clear sense of structure. (…) In the ‘Waldstein’ and ‘Appassionata’ sonatas she perfectly holds the balance of personal inflection and score facts, energetic furor of the Beethoven gesture and the development of overall context. Also in the ‘Pathétique’ a distinct principle dominates, and also elegance without shallowness, rhythmical stability without obstinacy. The tempi never reach the borders of transparent audibility: in the ‘Tempest’ sonata flexibility and smooth sense for colours triumph. This does not mean Kodama is not able to dive into particular attacks of Beethoven’s dramas, like the final of the E flat major sonata. Mari Kodama is a pianist who needs to be discovered.’
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 11 January 2008