Robin Meloy Goldsby - Dearest Things — The Piano Room Collection (2023) Hi-Res

"Dearest Things" is a six-track solo piano EP by Robin Meloy Goldsby, an artist I've been following for many years both as a composer/pianist and as the author of several books. "Dearest Things" is the third EP in the Piano Room Collection and features five original piano solos plus Robin's graceful and dreamy arrangement of Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern's "All The Things You Are." Quoting Robin: “I crafted these pieces at various crossroads in my life—unique and mundane moments of solitude, introspection, and joy. My music is a mirror, not a megaphone—it reflects our common desire for civility and peace in a tumultuous and heavy world. Serenity, light, harmony—these are the dearest things I know.”

A Steinway Artist, Robin Meloy Goldsby is an American artist who has spent decades playing the piano in some of the finest piano rooms in the world. She started playing in piano lounges during her summers on Nantucket Island while working her way through Chatham College. From there, she played at five-star hotels in New York City until she and her husband moved to Germany in 1994. From 2001 to 2015, Robin played regularly at Schlosshotel Lerbach, a five-star castle hotel in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. Currently, she is the featured pianist at Excelsior Hotel Ernst in Cologne and maintains a summer artist residency at Brenners Park Hotel in Baden Baden.

"Dearest Things" begins with "Starlings in a Silver Sky," a quietly hypnotic piece that expresses the freedom and grace of flight as well as the beauty of the birds themselves. "Echo in Winter" makes me think of the profound quiet of falling snow along with an occasional stiff wind sending snowflakes swirling in all directions. "Indigo Twilight" reflects on the winding down of a day as the sun sets and stars and the moon begin to appear - beautiful and very peaceful! "Almost There" is my favorite track on the album. Very delicate and dreamy, expressing feelings of wistfulness, reflection and perhaps wonder, it feels like the most personal piece of the six. "Water Lily" beautifully depicts the movement of ripples on a pond or lake as well as light dancing on the surface of the water. Captivating as well as very soothing, I really like this one, too! "All the Things You Are" was written in 1939 for the musical Very Warm For May and continues to be very popular. Robin's arrangement expresses heartfelt tenderness and love without needing any lyrics - the meaning of the music is clear and obvious, touching the listener deeply.

~Kathy Parsons