Pianist Karam Kim to celebrate Ravel's 150th anniversary with recital

The official poster for pianist Karam Kim's upcoming "Promenade with Ravel" recital, slated for June 15, 2 p.m. at the IBK Chamber Hall of the Seoul Arts Center. Courtesy of OPUS

Pianist Karam Kim will present a recital in Seoul next month to mark the 150th anniversary of composer Maurice Ravel's birth, offering a program that pays tribute to the French Impressionist master.

Titled "Promenade with Ravel," the concert will take place on June 15 at 2 p.m. at the IBK Chamber Hall of the Seoul Arts Center. The performance explores the complexity of Ravel's piano works, which Kim interprets through her own artistic journey growing up in Paris.

The program is set to evoke the atmosphere of a summer stroll through the French capital, highlighting some of Ravel's most intricate compositions.

Among them is "La Valse," a swirling waltz piece originally composed for two pianos and later arranged for orchestra and solo piano. Kim will also take on "Scarbo," the final movement of "Gaspard de la nuit," widely considered one of the most technically demanding pieces in the solo piano repertoire.

Kim studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris under Georges Pludermacher and Claire Désert and at the Royal Academy of Music in London through the Erasmus program.

She won first prize in the Young Artist division of the Concours International d'Ile de France and placed second at the Lagny sur Marne International Piano Competition, launching her performance career across Europe and Asia.

Her international appearances include festivals in Nice, Corsica and Kirishima, as well as engagements with the Munich Chamber Philharmonic and the Prokofiev Radio Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.

Beyond the concert stage, Kim has pursued projects that bridge classical music with humanitarian themes.

In 2015, she performed a concert at 5,416 meters in the Himalayas to raise awareness for Nepal earthquake victims. Her recital of Prokofiev's complete "War Sonatas" addressed the devastation of conflict, while her appearance at the 2024 UNESCO Peace Concert in Paris underscored her commitment to music's social impact.