June 2019
Repertoire
F. CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2, in F minor, Op. 21
L.v. BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5, in C minor, Op. 67
Performers
Orquestra Simfònica Camera Musicae
Seong-Jin Cho, piano
Tomàs Grau, conductor
Programme notes
Beethoven and Chopin top the list of composers of the first half of the nineteenth century that best represent musical romanticism, the former for his essential contributions in the development of the symphony, and the latter for making the piano position itself as the instrument par excellence of this period. Two masters, two geniuses, with an extensive catalogue of works among which this Concerto for piano No. 2 (1830) and the Symphony No. 5 (1804-1808) stand out, whose beginning overwhelms even before it sounds.
Seong-Jin Cho left the jury speechless at the Chopin international piano competition in Warsaw (2015) when, at only 21 years old, he performed each of the three movements of this piano concerto with a sublime maturity and neatness.
Beethoven did not get the answer he expected in the eventful premiere of his fifth symphony although the second time it was heard, the audience and critics realized that they were witnessing a historic moment. Not only because of the beginning that symbolizes the call of destiny but also because in each of the four movements there is a new and original musical exploration that opens the doors of future universes of sound.
CONCERT DATES
Seong-Jin Cho & OCM
Biography Seong-Jin Cho
With an overwhelming talent and innate musicality, Seong-Jin Cho is rapidly embarking on a world-class career and considered one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. His thoughtful and poetic, assertive and tender, virtuosic and colorful playing can combine panache with purity and is driven by an impressive natural sense of balance.
Born in 1994 in Seoul, Seong-Jin Cho started learning the piano at 6 and gave his first public recital at age 11. In 2009, he became the youngest-ever winner of Japan’s Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. In 2011, he won Third prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at the age of 17. In 2012, he moved to Paris to study with Michel Béroff at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique where he graduated in 2015. He is now based in Berlin.
Seong-Jin Cho was brought to the world’s attention in Fall 2015 when he won the coveted First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, prize that allowed to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The first recording was released in November 2016 featuring Chopin’s First Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda, with impressive critical acclaim worldwide.
He has performed in the main stage of Carnegie Hall as part of the Keyboard Virtuoso series and the Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and has played recitals at the Berlin Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal, the Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Hall, the Zurich’s Tonhalle-Maag, the Stockholm’s Konserthuset, the Munich’s Prinzregententheater, the Chicago’s Mandel Hall, Lyon’s Auditorium and the festivals of Anthéron, Verbier, Gstaad and Rheingau Festival among several other venues.
In November 2017, Seong-Jin stepped in for Lang Lang with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for concerts in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hong-Kong and Seoul.