Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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“These works were the simplest way of capturing a specific moment and feeling when I wrote them. I would like to share these moments with you now and wish sincerely that my music be a hand to hold along the winding path of life.”
So says Lee Ru-ma, the South Korean pianist and composer better known by his stage name Yiruma, in his introduction to the 20th Anniversary collections of his piano scores just published by Faber Music.
Yiruma first came to my attention, and that of many piano teachers around the world, through his composition River Flows in You, a runaway hit in the new easy listening piano firmament, for a time even eclipsing the ubiquitous music of Ludovico Einaudi and others in that space.
River Flows in You has appeared in (and subsequently disappeared from) a number of popular piano collections in recent years, and in different guises, sometimes accompanied by other popular hits by Yiruma, notably Kiss the Rain and If I Could See You Again, which have similarly become favourites with players and listeners alike.
For the new Faber Music 20th Anniversary publications, Yiruma has scored 14 of his personal favourites himself, and not once but twice, because his definitive versions now appear in both Original and Easy versions.
For their part, Faber Music have given the two alternative editions a matching and lavish presentation that double as gorgeous commemorations of this milestone and practical scores that are a joy to play from…
20th Anniversary
Born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1978, Yiruma came to England as a child to be educated at the Purcell School, and subsequently at King’s College London.
After graduating he returned to his homeland and released his debut album, Love Scene, in 2001. Success quickly followed, and his music began to find its way into films and television. International stardom came when his River Flows in You was associated with the Twilight hit movie franchise.
Over his twenty year career, Yiruma has produced a succession of hit albums featuring his piano music, which combines the simplicity and accessibility of pop music with the complexity and nuance of his classically trained playing.
Yiruyma’s album bearing the simple title Solo appeared to mark this anniversary in 2021, and the music books reviewed include the same 14 tracks as the recording itself, offering a “greatest hits” from the first two decades of his extraordinary career:
- Sometimes Someone
- Destiny of Love
- Lost in Island
- Shining Smile
- Spring Waltz
- River Flows in You
- Joy
- 27 May
- The Sunbeams, They Scatter
- I
- If I Could See You Again
- It’s Your Day
- Kiss the Rain
- Lord Hold My Hand
Original and Easy Publications
Faber Music’s publications of Yiruma’s music appear as two luxury folios, offering the Original transcriptions as well as Easy versions for the less advanced pianist who wants to explore this music.
Both books appear with classy matt card covers including silver-embossed writing, and begin with 15 pages in full colour, offering artist photography, moody images, the contents of the book and a very brief introduction form the composer himself.
The remainder of the books are taken up with the scores themselves. The Original book has 84 pages, while the Easy version has 80. The notation is well spaced and enjoys pristine engraving and print quality. Teachers will want to note that there is no fingering, and pedalling is similarly left to the player’s discretion.
Yiruma is credited with scoring these compositions, including in their Easy versions. In terms of levels, the Originals would suit a player at late intermediate level, around UK Grade 5, while the Easy versions seem more suitable for early intermediate players; I would suggest UK Grade 3.
Playing through the Easy versions, their musical credibility as reproductions of the recordings is impressive indeed. This is wonderful news, because sometimes such simplified versions lose the essence of the pieces; not so here. For the most part, rhythms are maintained with authenticity, but the textures are thinned, easier keys chosen, and in some cases the pieces are shortened.
To be honest, in some cases I found myself engaging with and preferring the simplicity of the Easy versions to the more tightly wound figurations of the Originals. In both Original and Easy versions however, I found these “greatest hits” of Yiruma to be truly enjoyable music, and on many levels.
Closing Thoughts
These deluxe books, which look and feel expensive but are surprisingly affordable, offer the best introduction to Yiruma’s music that anyone could hope for. His fans will undoubtedly have already snapped up copies, but these are publications that I suspect many, many pianists will truly love.
In a year of many highlights, these books are unquestionably another publishing triumph, and in the realm of artist folios, Faber Music have very significantly raised the bar here. I have to say… Wow!
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