Nicholas Scott-Burt - 24 Preludes for Piano (Da-Hee Kim)

Information

Composer: Nicholas Scott-Burt

• 24 Preludes for Piano
• Minimalis I
• Love Song

Da-Hee Kim, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Divine Art

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In March 2026, Divine Art Records releases the premiere recording of 24 Preludes for Piano by Nicholas Scott-Burt, performed by pianist Da-Hee Kim, marking the label debut for both artists. Composed between 2019 and 2020, the work takes a post-modern approach to the tradition of cycles in all 24 major and minor keys, inspired by composers such as Bach, Chopin, and Shostakovich. Each prelude functions as a miniature while contributing to a larger, symphonic structure. The cycle is organized into four suites of six movements with distinct characters. The album also includes Scott-Burt’s Minimalis I and Love Song, reflecting a style that blends historical influences with a contemporary, individual musical language.

Nicholas Scott-Burt, born in Bristol in 1962, showed early musical talent, playing piano by ear, improvising, and composing from childhood. While at primary school in Reading, he wrote and staged three small operas with classmates. His first acknowledged work, an organ sonata, was composed at age seventeen. He studied music at the University of Bristol under teachers including Raymond Warren, Derek Bourgeois, Adrian Beaumont, and Robert Saxton, earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and later returning for a PhD. Scott-Burt has worked as a Director of Music, conductor, organist, accompanist, jazz pianist, teacher, and examiner. His compositions span diverse genres, reflecting a style that blends neo-classicism, postmodernism, and jazz influences.

Award-winning Korean pianist Da-Hee Kim has performed at prominent venues and festivals across South Korea, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Algeria. Her appearances include concerts at major halls in Paris, Metz, London, Coventry, Algiers, and Seoul. A dedicated chamber musician, she regularly performs with her brother, violinist Da-Min Kim, as Duo Ainos; their acclaimed album Tradition chez les modernes received critical praise and was broadcast by KBS, and the duo won second prize at the Concours International de Musique de Chambre de Lyon. Kim studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and later in Munich before completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Conservatory, and she currently works as a pianist at Elmhurst Ballet School.