Mariya Kim is a pianist from Ukraine who won the 2008 Seoul International Music Competition, one of several career-enhancing events that led to this release. Schumann’s Op. 3 and Op. 10 Paganini Etude sets are difficult to play yet less glittery and scintillating than Liszt’s rival Paganini Etude. For this reason they seldom figure on concert programs and are less frequently recorded in relation to Schumann’s other piano cycles (Carnaval, Kreisleriana, etc.).
In contrast to the more nuanced and poetic virtuosity characterizing Mi Joo Lee’s MDG Schumann Paganini readings, Kim’s blunter, more aggressive brand of keyboard bravura comes closer to the spirit of Paganini than Schumann in faster pieces, such as in her mad dash through Op. 3 No. 5’s middle section, or in her drier, more finger-oriented way with Op. 10 No. 3’s octaves and rapid runs. At the same time, she takes nearly two minutes longer to get through the Maestoso Op. 10 No. 4 than Lee, and her monumental yet slightly static playing yields to Lee’s more animated and shapely phrasing.
Kim’s unusually long 33-minute playing time for the Humoreske largely results from protracted rubatos in slow sections, although her strong legato projection prevents things from falling apart. In most cases the steel-edged sonority Kim produces in extended loud episodes might prove monotonous, yet strong articulation and variety of voicing basically save her skin and command our attention. If you want a Schumann Humoreske packed with rhetorical fancy, I prefer Arrau, Horowitz, or Lupu by virtue of their wider dynamic contrasts and more unified organization of the work’s disparate sections. Still, Mariya Kim’s powerful paws signify a big pianist in the making.