Eunbi Kim: A House of Many Rooms Album Release

Pianist Eunbi Kim celebrates the release of her debut album “A House of Many Rooms: New Concert Music by Fred Hersch” (Albany Records). “A House of Many Rooms” draws together rarely heard classical gems by the twelve time Grammy nominee and renowned jazz artist, Fred Hersch, which take inspiration from Tchaikovsky to tango. In Kim’s deft hands, each composition by the exploratory artist Hersch, (who co-produced the album with Ryan Streber) evokes a distinct sound, atmosphere, or color waiting to be uncovered and interpreted by the listener. Kim plays this rich and virtuosic music vividly and fervently, exploring Hersch’s flip-side, as one would any newly discovered treasure trove from a living master.

“A wonderful introduction to this side of Fred Hersch’s music and the jaw-dropping performance by Eunbi Kim!” – Mainly Piano

“Eunbi Kim plays with passion, command and great warmth.” – Fred Hersch

Eunbi Kim, pianist
Eunbi Kim is a virtuosic pianist with wide-ranging artistic sensibilities. She has commissioned new work from Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), created a music-theatre performance inspired by the novels of Haruki Murakami, and just released an album of concert music by 10-time GRAMMY nominated jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch on Albany Records. Her recital and recording projects are frequently sparked by a fresh artistic obsession, and often present the audience with intimate and challenging subject matter—from the mental breakdowns of literary characters to the inner workings of Eunbi’s own family.

Her genre-defying, often interdisciplinary recitals have been presented in prestigious venues in New York (Symphony Space, 92nd Street Y, DiMenna Center, le poisson rouge, Columbia University, the cell theatre) and across the United States (Kennedy Center, Asia Society Texas Center, PianoForte Foundation, Georgetown University, Bennington College, among many others).

An advocate for arts entrepreneurship and artistic innovation, Eunbi has been an invited speaker numerous colleges/universities and national arts organizations such as Chamber Music America, Asian-American Arts Alliance, the Manhattan School of Music, New York Foundation for the Arts, and New Music Gathering. Her recent TEDx talk, “Performing Through Fear,” encourages young people to overcome their inner demons to discover their true selves. She has held a fellowship at the Manhattan School of Music’s Center for Music Entrepreneurship, and was one of just 50 artists selected for the New York Foundation for the Arts’s 2012 “Artist as Entrepreneur” program.

Eunbi received her Masters in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music. Her principal teachers have included Anthony de Mare and Elena Arseniev.

Fred Hersch, composer
A select member of jazz’s piano pantheon, Fred Hersch is a pervasively influential creative force who has shaped the music’s course over more than three decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist. A twelve-time Grammy Award nominee, he continues to earn jazz’s most prestigious awards, including recent distinctions as a 2016 Doris Duke Artist, 2016 Jazz Pianist of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association and the 2017 Prix in Honorem Jazz for the entirety of his career from l’Académie Charles Cros in France.

Hersch has long defined jazz’s creative edge in a wide variety of settings, from his breathtaking solo recitals and exploratory duos to his extraordinary trios and innovative chamber settings. With some three dozen albums to his credit as a leader or co-leader, he consistently wins an international array of awards and lavish critical praise for his albums.