Just in time to close the year, Rieko, the Japanese-Australian pianist, presented her first-ever solo concert dedicated to her original compositions. The programme showcased a diverse body of work written over the past year, revealing her identity as a pianist-composer with both technical command and a deeply personal musical voice.
The concert opened with two pieces that immediately reflected Rieko’s cultural and musical background. 'Dear Mum' was a heartfelt dedication to her family, with particular gratitude to her mother, who had first introduced Rieko to the piano. Chopin’s 'Étude'—literally a “study”—paid homage to one of the greatest pianist-composers of the past, acknowledging how such classical masters had shaped Rieko’s development, musicality, and piano technique. These opening pieces served as an introduction to who she was as an artist.
The remainder of the programme featured Rieko’s original compositions, curated around the seasons as a reflection on the past year. It began with 'Haru no Sanpo' (“Stroll in Spring”), Rieko’s debut single, released in February of this year. As my personal favourite of the evening, it offered the perfect entry point into her musical world. A delicate, lyrical melody gradually unfolded into a more virtuosic piano texture, showcasing both her refined technique and her gift for melodic development. It set the tone for the rest of the concert, balancing clarity, warmth, and expressive depth.
This was followed by a trio of more experimental works—'Angels under the Leaves', 'Garden of Eden', and 'Fulham Palace Gardens'. Here, Rieko expanded her sonic palette by plucking piano strings, incorporating live delay effects, using the Minilogue XD synthesiser, and layering pre-recorded sounds. These pieces vividly evoked summer gardens: birdsong, rustling leaves, and shifting atmospheric textures. The audience appeared fully absorbed, listening intently as the sound world expanded beyond the piano into something almost cinematic. The set concluded with Ravel’s 'Jeux d’eau', a sparkling and fluid performance that captured the playfulness and warmth of summer, bringing the first half to an exhilarating close.
After the interval, the focus shifted to her autumnal reflections. 'Until We Meet Again' bid farewell to the warmth of summer, followed by 'Sometimes I Feel Like a Christmas Tree', performed beside the festive tree. Two compositions that were rather 'moto perpetuo' followed: 'In Between', reflecting transitional moments, and 'Koma' (“Spinning Top” in Japanese), evoking the cyclical rhythms of time and nature.
The concert concluded with 'Circles', inspired by train stations—a particularly fitting choice given the performance space above King’s Cross. Incorporating field recordings from stations alongside analogue sounds, the piece captured the ebb and flow of commuters, people arriving and departing in endless repetition. It felt meditative yet grounded in everyday life. Through this final work, Rieko reflected on cycles of travel, nature, time, and human experience, bringing the evening to a thoughtful and resonant close.
Overall, the concert captured Rieko’s distinctive voice as a pianist-composer: rooted in classical tradition yet unafraid to experiment with extended techniques, electronics, and sound design. The balance between familiarity and originality made the programme feel both accessible and deeply personal. The intimate setting of the King’s Cross Clock Tower added to this sense of closeness, allowing the audience to feel directly connected to the performer and her music. Judging from the attentive silence, warm reactions, and the atmosphere captured on video, the evening resonated strongly—an understated but confident statement from an artist clearly coming into her own.
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