Seong-Jin Cho

Seong-Jin Cho
조성진
Seong-Jin Cho in 2023
Seong-Jin Cho in 2023
Background information
Born (1994-05-28) 28 May 1994 (age 30)
Seoul, Republic of Korea
GenresClassical
OccupationMusician
InstrumentPiano
Years active2006–present
LabelsDeutsche Grammophon
Websiteseongjin-cho.com
Korean name
Hangul
조성진
Hanja
趙成珍
Revised RomanizationJo Seongjin
McCune–ReischauerCho Sŏngjin

Seong-Jin Cho (Korean: 조성진; born May 28, 1994)[1] is a South Korean pianist. He was the winner of the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, the first from his country.[2] Since then, he has regularly performed as a soloist with the world’s foremost orchestras.

Cho signed with Deutsche Grammophon in 2016, under which he has released six studio albums. He is the Artist in Residence of the Berlin Philharmonic for the 2024–25 season.[3]

Early life and education

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Cho was born in Seoul, Republic of Korea, as an only child of non-musical parents; his father was an engineer.[4] At six years old, he began studying both the piano and the violin.[citation needed] Though he appeared to have more natural facility on the latter, he developed a stronger liking for the piano, and gave his first public piano recital at age eleven.[citation needed] After being identified through a musical prodigy development program at the Seoul Arts Center, he began studying under Sook-Ryeon Park at Sunchon National University and Soo-Jung Shin at Seoul National University.[citation needed]

He attended the Yewon School, a private middle school for art education, during which he won First Prize at both the Moscow International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Young Pianists (2008) [2][citation needed] and the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (2009).[citation needed] Cho then attended Seoul Arts High School for two years, during which he placed third at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition[citation needed] and began performing regularly with Myung-whun Chung and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.[citation needed]

Cho moved to Paris in 2012 to study at the Conservatoire de Paris with Michel Béroff.[5] While there, Cho won third at the 2014 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition[citation needed] and first prize at the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition.

Career

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Seong-Jin Cho constantly tours around the world to work with orchestras and to perform his piano recital in Europe, North America and Asia. He performs more than 100 times a year and has a busy schedule pre-booked at least three years ahead.[6]

Seong-Jin Cho in the 2024-25 Season

As a soloist, Cho frequently works with prestigious European orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra. He also performs regularly with prestigious North American orchestras such as New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia, and Cleveland, He has collaborated with eminent conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Sir Simon Rattle, Kirill Petrenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Vasily Petrenko, Mikhail Pletnev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov, Gianandrea Noseda, Yannick Neget-Seguin and Andris Nelsons.

Cho is an active recitalist and frequently achieves a sold-out concert in the world's most prestigious concert halls, including the Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, Musikverein, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Prinzregententheater München, Wiener Konzerthaus, Wigmore Hall in London and Suntory Hall Tokyo just to name a few. He has also been invited to numerous music festivals such as the Verbier Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, the Rheingau Musik Festival, BBC Proms, Tanglewood Festival, Salzburg Festival, Edinburg Festival and Lucerne Festival.

In 2017, Cho gave his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle to perform Ravel Piano Concerto in G.[7] He has been re-invited two other times since then.

In 2021, Cho gave the world premier of Allegro in D, a newly found Mozart work.[8]

In 2022, Cho debuted with the Vienna Philharmonic as a replacement to Denis Matsuev who would perform with Valery Gergiev at Carnegie Hall but was replaced with Yannick Neget-Seguin.[9] Cho performed Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 successfully and has been re-invited to perform with the orchestra on Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in Oct 2024.

Cho is 2024–25 Artist in Residence of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra[10] performing Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 and some chamber music with members of the orchestra.

Discography

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Seong-Jin Cho’s first album was Chopin Piano Competition performance released as a live recording immediately after the conclusion of the competition:

  1. Winner of the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition Warsaw 2015, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 6 November 2015
Seong-Jin Cho in Paris in 2024

In 2016, Cho signed a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon and has released six studio albums.[11]

  1. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Ballades, Seong-Jin Cho with London Symphony Orchestra & Gianandrea Noseda, Deutsche Grammophon, 25 November 2016
  2. Debussy: Images / Children's Corner / Suite Bergamasque, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 17 November 2017
  3. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466; Piano Sonatas, K. 281 and 332, Seong-Jin Cho with Chamber Orchestra Of Europe & Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Deutsche Grammophon, 16 November 2018
  4. The Wanderer Schubert Berg Liszt, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 8 May 2020
  5. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 · Scherzi, Seong-Jin Cho with London Symphony Orchestra & Gianandrea Noseda, Deutsche Grammophon, 27 August 2021
  6. The Handel Project: Handel-Suites & Brahms-Variations, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 23 February 2023

In addition, Cho recorded Mozart’s newly found work, collaborated with Matthias Goerne for a song album and has released four digital singles:

  1. Schubert 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 94, D. 780, III. Allegro moderato, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 21 Aug 2020
  2. Mozart Allegro in D major, K 626b/16, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 29 Jan 2021
  3. Im Abendrot (at Sunset) – Songs by Wagner, Pfitzner, Strauss, Matthias Goerne and Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 16 Apr 2021
  4. Liszt Consolations, S. 172: No. 3 Lento placido in D-flat major, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 30 Apr 2021
  5. Schubert Der Wanderer, D. 489, Matthias Goerne and Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 28 May 2021
  6. Brahms 6 Pieces for Piano, Op. 118: VI. Intermezzo in E Flat Minor. Andante, largo e mesto, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 25 Feb 2022

Reviews

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On his BBC Proms performance of Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4, The Guardian reviewed:[12]

"Cho’s acclaimed virtuosity was clear, his passagework gleamingly precise, his sound ranging from staggering softness to luminous Steinway shine."

Bachtrack reviewer Chris Garlick commented on Cho's Schumann Symphonic Etudes:[13]

"Cho revelled in the charm and endless variety of textures and dancelike rhythms, rising to the occasion at every turn, an inspired performance of a work that demands nothing less."

Cho has been described as a “poet on the keyboard” by Sir Simon Rattle.[14]

Awards

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Personal Life

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After the Chopin Competition, he met Krystian Zimerman in Tokyo who toured him around the city.[citation needed] Zimerman has provided career advice to Cho since then.[citation needed] Cho’s first classical album that he purchased as a child was Zimerman’s Chopin Four Ballades.[citation needed] Cho idolised Radu Lupu, as he revealed in the interview, and when they met in Paris during a dinner party, they became close and Cho was invited to Lupu’s house in Lausanne several times.[citation needed]

Cho moved to Berlin in 2018 after briefly visiting the city for business occasion.[citation needed] He was attracted by the city’s cosmopolitan culture and many beautiful parks in the city.[citation needed] Cho considers music not as a job but what he likes, and enjoys performing constantly[17] while he tries to expand his repertoire by adding at least two new piano concertos and a one-year recital program worth of solo piano pieces each year. He has been a big fan of Mahler Symphonies since he was in the 7th grade.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "新피아노의 시인, 조성진" [Sung-jin Cho, the new piano poet]. Yeoseong JoongAng (in Korean). 15 December 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Korean Wins Moscow Chopin Competition". koreatimes. 21 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Artist in Residence 2024/25". Berlin Philharmonic. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  4. ^ "INTERVIEW | Seong-Jin Cho (Series Part 3) | "I want to play the piano as Kleiber conducts an orchestra"". Where Cherries Ripen. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Winning a renowned piano competition put Seong-Jin Cho on road to stardom". Washington Post. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  6. ^ "피아니스트 조성진 "1년에 100번 연주…먹는 게 유일한 취미"". 동아일보 (in Korean). 23 March 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Seong-Jin Cho to play with Simon Rattle and Berliner Philharmoniker". The Korea Herald. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  8. ^ "The unknown Mozart: Seong-Jin Cho to give world premiere of Allegro in D – Seong-Jin Cho". Deutsche Grammophon. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Pianist Seong-Jin Cho Steps in Tonight as Soloist with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra". Carnegie Hall. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Artist in Residence 2024/25: Seong-Jin Cho". www.berliner-philharmoniker.de. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Seong-Jin Cho - Discography". Deutsche Grammophon. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  12. ^ Willson, Flora (11 April 2024). "Gardner/LPO review – tautly controlled Tippett, and whoops for Seong-Jin Cho'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Light as a feather: Seong-Jin Cho wows a full house at the Barbican". bachtrack.com. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Simon Rattle praises Seong-Jin Cho as a poet on the keyboard". Primo Artists. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  15. ^ "15-Year-Old Becomes 1st Asian Winner of Hamamatsu Contest". The Korea Times. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Ho-Am Foundation picks prize winners". The Korea Herald. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  17. ^ "피아니스트 조성진 "1년에 100번 연주…먹는 게 유일한 취미"". 동아일보 (in Korean). 23 March 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
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