• Source: Seong-Jin Cho

Seong-Jin Cho (Korean: 조성진; born May 28, 1994) is a South Korean pianist. He was the winner of the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, the first from his country. 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.




Early life and education


Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, as an only child of non-musical parents; his father was an engineer. At six years old, he began studying both the piano and the violin. 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. 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.
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) and the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (2009). Cho then attended Seoul Arts High School for two years, during which he placed third at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition and began performing regularly with Myung-whun Chung and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
Cho moved to Paris in 2012 to study at the Conservatoire de Paris with Michel Béroff. While there, Cho won third at the 2014 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition and first prize at the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition.




Career


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.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. 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.
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. 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 performing Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 and some chamber music with members of the orchestra.




Discography


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

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

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

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Ballades, Seong-Jin Cho with London Symphony Orchestra & Gianandrea Noseda, Deutsche Grammophon, 25 November 2016
Debussy: Images / Children's Corner / Suite Bergamasque, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 17 November 2017
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
The Wanderer Schubert Berg Liszt, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 8 May 2020
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 · Scherzi, Seong-Jin Cho with London Symphony Orchestra & Gianandrea Noseda, Deutsche Grammophon, 27 August 2021
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:

Schubert 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 94, D. 780, III. Allegro moderato, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 21 Aug 2020
Mozart Allegro in D major, K 626b/16, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 29 Jan 2021
Im Abendrot (at Sunset) – Songs by Wagner, Pfitzner, Strauss, Matthias Goerne and Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 16 Apr 2021
Liszt Consolations, S. 172: No. 3 Lento placido in D-flat major, Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 30 Apr 2021
Schubert Der Wanderer, D. 489, Matthias Goerne and Seong-Jin Cho, Deutsche Grammophon, 28 May 2021
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


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




Awards


2008: International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Young Pianists – First Prize
2009: Hamamatsu International Piano Competition – First Prize
2011: International Tchaikovsky Competition (piano) – Third Prize
2014: Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition – Third Prize
2015: XVII International Chopin Piano Competition – First Prize
2023: Samsung Ho-Am Prize in the Arts




Personal life


After the Chopin Competition, he met Krystian Zimerman in Tokyo who toured him around the city. Zimerman has provided career advice to Cho since then. Cho's first classical album that he purchased as a child was Zimerman's Chopin Four Ballades. 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.
Cho moved to Berlin in 2018 after briefly visiting the city for business occasion. He was attracted by the city's cosmopolitan culture and many beautiful parks in the city. Cho considers music not as a job but what he likes, and enjoys performing constantly 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.




References






External links


Official website
Deutsche Grammophon

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