Seong-Jin Cho © Stephan Rabold

Soloist

Seong-Jin Cho

Piano

Biography – about the artist.

Seong-Jin Cho has established himself worldwide as one of the leading pianists of his generation and most distinctive artists on the current music scene. With an innate musicality and consummate artistry, his thoughtful and poetic, virtuosic, and colourful playing can combine panache with purity and is driven by an impressive natural sense of balance. He is celebrated unanimously across the globe for his expressive magic and illuminative insights.

Seong-Jin Cho was brought to the world’s attention in 2015 when he won First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, and his career has rapidly ascended since. In early 2016, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon and, in 2023, Cho was awarded the prestigious Samsung Ho-Am Prize in the Arts in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the world of classical music. An artist high in demand, Cho works with the world's most prestigious orchestras including Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductors he regularly collaborates with include Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Lahav Shani.


In the 2024/25 season Seong-Jin Cho takes up the mantle of Artist in Residence with the Berliner Philharmoniker, a position which sees Cho work with the orchestra on multiple projects across the season including concerto performances, chamber music collaborations, on tour to the Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden, and in recital. Elsewhere, he notably returns to London’s BBC Proms, to the Philadelphia Orchestra to open their season with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and to The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst. Cho embarks on several international tours, including his notable return to Wiener Philharmoniker with Andris Nelsons in Korea and to Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks with Sir Simon Rattle in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, following a performance of Brahms Piano Concerto. No. 2 in Munich.

Highly sought after in recital, Seong-Jin Cho appears in the world’s most prestigious concert halls including the main stage of the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Wien, Alte Oper Frankfurt, KKL Luzern, Sala Santa Cecilia, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Rudolfinum, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Festival International de Piano de la Roque d'Anthéron, and Verbier Festival. During the coming season he will present the complete solo piano music of Maurice Ravel at venues including the Wiener Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Barbican Centre London, Celebrity Series at Boston Symphony Hall, Walt Disney Hall Los Angeles, and Carnegie Hall.

Seong-Jin Cho's latest recording is his solo album entitled ‘The Handel Project’, released in early 2023. In 2021, he released Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Scherzi with the London Symphony Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda for Deutsche Grammophon. He had previously recorded his first album with the same orchestra and conductor featuring Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 as well as the Four Ballades. His solo album titled ‘The Wanderer’ was released in 2020 and features Schubert’s ‘Wanderer Fantasy’, Berg’s Piano Sonata op. 1, and Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor. A solo Debussy recital was also released in 2017, followed by a Mozart album with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Yannick Nézet-Séguin in 2018. All albums have been released on the Yellow Label and have garnered impressive critical acclaim worldwide.

Born in 1994 in Seoul, Seong-Jin Cho started learning the piano at the age of six and gave his first public recital aged 11. In 2009, he became the youngest-ever winner of Japan’s Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. In 2011, he won Third Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at the age of 17. From 2012-2015 he studied with Michel Béroff at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Seong-Jin Cho is now based in Berlin.

SEASON 2024/2025

The next dates:

09.12.2024

Philharmonie Berlin

> more about the promoter

22.01.2025

Konzerthalle Bamberg

Bamberg

> more about the promoter

Your contact persons:

General Management:

Kellie Mills Chappell

+44 20 7395 09-35

kellie.mills@kdschmid.co.uk

General Management:

Sian Watson

+44 20 7395 09-13

sian.watson@kdschmid.co.uk

Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz:

Sophia Herz-Grevesmühl

+49 30 5213702-28

sophia.herz-grevesmuehl@kdschmid.de

Managing Director:

Karen McDonald

+44 20 7395 09-15

karen.mcdonald@kdschmid.co.uk

Artist Coordination:

Abbie Harby

+44 20 7395 09-20

abbie.harby@kdschmid.co.uk

Listen, See & feel the music.

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Artist Coordination:

Abbie Harby

+44 20 7395 09-20

abbie.harby@kdschmid.co.uk

Discography.

The Handel Project

Handel-Suites & Brahms-Variations

02.2023, Deutsche Grammophon, CD

> Amazon > iTunes

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 - Scherzi

London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda

08.2021, Deutsche Grammophon, CD

> Amazon > iTunes

The Wanderer

Schubert, Berg, Liszt

05.2020, Deutsche Grammophon, CD

> Amazon > iTunes

Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 20 K 466; Sonatas K 281 and K 332

11.2018, Deutsche Grammophon, CD

> Amazon > iTunes

Debussy

Images, Children's Corner, Suite bergamasque, L'Isle jouyeuse

11.2017, Deutsche Grammophon, CD

> Amazon > iTunes

News.

Seong-Jin Cho: Benefit Concert and Upcoming Asia Tour with the BRSO

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Andris Nelsons and the Wiener Philharmoniker Embark on Asian Tour with Seong-Jin Cho

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Seong-Jin Cho debuts as Artist in Residence with the Berlin Philharmonic

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Seong-Jin Cho and the Philadelphia Orchestra open the season

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Seong-Jin Cho: Summer Concerts at the Festival International de Piano and Edinburgh International Festival

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Seong-Jin Cho returns to the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall

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Seong-Jin Cho with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

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Seong-Jin Cho on tour in Japan this summer

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Season 2024/2025: 6 KD SCHMID Artists with the Berliner Philharmoniker

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BBC Proms 2024 mit Seong-Jin Cho, Stefan Dohr, Tianyi Lu, John Storgårds & Kazuki Yamada

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Seong-Jin Cho: Artist-in-Residence of the Berliner Philharmoniker

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Seong-Jin Cho makes his debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

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London Philharmonic Orchestra debut for Seong-Jin Cho

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Seong-Jin Cho: European solo recital tour

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Seong-Jin Cho returns to the Concertgebouworkest

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Summer Festivals 2022

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Seong-Jin Cho in Korea

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Press.

„“Cho mastered the first movement [Tchaikovsky] with youthful vigour and tamed energy, without superficial virtuosity and grand gestures, but with astonishing technique and accuracy.”“

Online Merker, Ingrid Gerk, 27.02.2023

„[…] an absolute master of clarifying textures with multiple shades of colour and touch; an expert juggler too, able to respect baroque sprightliness while also using a modern piano’s resources to warm and expand the music’s aura.“

The Times, Geoff Brown, 22.02.2023

„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.“

Bachtrack, Chris Garlick, 14.02.2023

„The young soloist’s own superb technique—and restrain—was on display.“

Boston Classical Review, Andrew J. Sammut, 06.03.2020

„The South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho […] proved a soloist of real poise and refinement […], never lapsing into sentimentality, even when the gracious slow movement felt like the autumn-tinged elegy that the occasion required.“

The Guardian, Stephen Pritchard, 26.08.2018