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"Four Stars ... a beautifully conceived programme. In all three works the notes represent much more than mere abstract sounds, yet each also marks a remarkable exploration of piano sonority ... Kodama finds plenty of atmosphere in the Ravel, captured in excellent sound ..." - BBC Music Magazine "Nothing ever sounds strongly attacked, even the loud passages, but rather it swells and ebbs in the air as if played on the vibes rather than piano. This approach gives everything she does a shimmering quality, like the ping of fine crystal and this in turn conveys her feelings about the music ... an excellent disc and a fine representation of the music chosen." - Fanfare "... Kodama is perfectly at home on La vallée des cloches, as she brings her signature, sublime approach to the interpretation of three introspective 20th century gems ... her breathtaking arpeggios mimic the sweeping ocean waves with powerful ardor and sensitive agility ... Kodama spans continents and eight decades to bring forth a superbly sophisticated and conceptually unified recording. She achieves this with her deep sympathy and total insight into the composers' works, coupled with her sensitive and intelligent virtuosity." - All About Jazz Momo Kodama’s first album for ECM is a marvellous, mesmerizing journey, from the shimmering surfaces of Ravel’s piano cycle Miroirs to Messiaen’s La fauvette des jardins, a late masterpiece of piano music from the visionary composer. Kodama’s insights into Messiaen’s sound world are remarkable as she conveys his religious feeling for nature, birdsong transformed into spiritual utterance through compelling, insistent piano figures. Linking the two pieces like a walkway is Toru Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch, music from the East informed by Western experiment. Its opening bars evoke not only the rapturous crystalline chord progressions of Messiaen, but also the flashing, glittering sophistication of Ravel.