Seong-Jin Cho featured in The Korea Times for Chopin album release amid pandemic
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 · Scherzi was released in August of 2021 featuring Gianandrea Noseda and the London Symphony Orchestra (Photo credit: Orsolya Bernáth)
Pianist Cho Seong-jin releases Chopin album with intent, feels grateful to meet audiences amid pandemic
By Ji-won Park
The Korean Times
September 3, 2021
Had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, pianist Seong-jin Cho, the winner of the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, would have been one of the busiest pianists in Korea and the world holding solo recitals and concerts with renowned orchestras.
However, after his last recital in New York in March 2020, all of his performances were canceled following the virus spread, and he barely had a chance to appear on stage except for online performances until he had a national tour in Korea starting from October, 2020. He started online concerts and resumed some offline recitals, but it didn't satisfy as performing on a stage in front of an audience did.
Despite the pandemic, however, he came back to Korea to embark on a nationwide recital tour in seven different cities starting from Jeonju Sept. 4 with the new album of Chopin works released on Aug. 27. He is planning to hold recitals in Jeonju (Sept. 4), Daegu (Sept. 5), Seoul (Sept. 7), Incheon (Sept. 8), Yeosu (Sept. 11) and Suwon (Sept. 12) and Busan (Sept. 16). Upon many requests, he is also planning to hold an additional concert in Seoul at the Seoul Arts Center, Sept. 18 which will be broadcast via Naver.
It is the first tour for Cho since he released his new album of Chopin works titled “Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 ― Scherzi” featuring “Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21,” and a series of scherzos, including, “Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 20,” “Scherzo No. 2 in B Flat Minor, Op. 31,” “Scherzo No. 3 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 39” and “Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Op. 54” as well as three bonus tracks, “Revolutionary” Etude, Op. 10 no. 12," “Impromptu No. 1, Op. 29” and “Nocturne, Op. 9 no. 2.” Cho will be playing the works included on the latest album, as well as other rare works, such as Janacek's “Piano Sonata 1.X.1905,” and Ravel's “Gaspard de la nuit.”
For the winner of the renowned Chopin competition, it would be inevitable to play the composer's pieces. But he made an “intentional” choice to record the Chopin pieces some five years after showing his abilities as a pianist who can play various and profound works such as those of Debussy, Mozart, Schubert and Liszt, apart from Chopin.
“Since I recorded Chopin works in 2016, I did not record his pieces on purpose. The winner of the Chopin competition can receive a lot of opportunities and build a good career. But the position also can have risks to be regarded as a Chopin specialist. I didn't want that ... I decided to record the album of Chopin in 2018 and planned to record it in 2020 intrinsically thinking the five year gap is a good amount of time after the first recording even though the pandemic delayed the recording,” Cho said during a press conference held at Seoul Arts Center, Friday, to promote the release of the recent album and the upcoming recitals in Korea.
He stressed that he decided to record Chopin's “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in F minor Op. 21” to create a certain cycle and the four Scherzo's as they are “substantial” Chopin pieces.
“As I recorded Chopin's 'Piano Concerto No. 1' about five years ago with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, I thought it would be nice to create the cycle again with Chopin's 'Piano Concerto No. 2' with them. Also, I chose to play 'Scherzo No. 1 to 4' as they are the most substantial and heaviest works of Chopin and substantial in terms of length and composition.”
He added that he has a lot of memories associated with “Scherzo No. 2” as he first played it when he was in the sixth grade in elementary school and it helped him to meet his lifetime teacher and other musicians.
“The four works are different and excellent independently, but I had some good memories about 'Scherzo No. 2.' I played it when I was in the sixth grade in elementary school and I played it again in front of conductor Chung Myung-whun in 2009 and was able to build a relationship with him. I was also able to meet with my teacher Shin Soo-jung with the work as she randomly found me playing the piece. I also played it in the semi-final stage of the 2015 Chopin competition.”
He said he doesn't notice big differences in his playing style as one doesn't realize oneself aging while seeing their face every day in a mirror.
For him, the COVID-19 situation was similar to a student waiting for a test with no fixed date but also a wakeup-call to help him to realize just how important the existence of audiences, stage performances and also music are to him.
"I tried to practice new piano works during the time I had after the cancellation of performances, but it was very difficult to learn because I didn't know when my next performance would be. It was like an examinee waiting for an unscheduled exam. But the time helped me to realize how precious meeting audiences, holding performances and music itself are. I came to the realization that audience-less concerts cannot replace live concerts. But the time also helped me to get used to online performances … I am grateful to be back to Korea and to be able to play following my last concert in Seoul.”
Cho is set to play the Chopin's pieces as well as other works such as Ravel's “Gaspard de la nuit” which he said would be the most technically difficult solo work and the work he would like to play more while still young.
Stressing that it is hard to tell where he is at right now as a pianist, the pianist said “It is hard to define whether I am successful because I am still learning. But, the attitude may not be changed when I turned 40 or 50 as I think there would be no development while thinking that I am good enough.”
He is scheduled to hold a series of tours and concerts next year in Korea as well as in the United States with baritone Matthias Goerne and with the New York Philharmonic and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is also planning to record works of Baroque composers such as Handel.
Cho hoped that he would be able to continue to present performances that he is satisfied with as it makes him happy.
“It may sound strange, but I just think about today and do my best to finish what I can do within a day. I do tomorrow's work tomorrow. I had dreams of having a Carnegie Hall recital, for example, but I don't dream about such things anymore. I just want to be happy and I was happy when I performed well. So there will be many projects and more work in the future. I would like to play well to satisfy myself. And I hope I would be able to finish recitals and concerts that I planned after things get better with the pandemic,” he said.
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