New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The music world is currently celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Seong-Jin Cho is marking the occasion with his most ambitious project since he was signed by Deutsche Grammophon, after winning the 2015 Chopin Competition. Renowned for his insightful readings of Ravel, he has recorded the composer's complete solo piano music and two piano concertos. Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works was released on 17 January to great critical acclaim and, in Cho's home country of South Korea, achieved instant gold status.
Its companion release, Ravel: The Piano Concertos, in which the pianist is joined by the
Boston Symphony Orchestra and its
Music Director Andris Nelsons, comes out digitally and on CD on 21 February 2025. A deluxe edition presenting the complete recordings will be issued digitally and as a 3-CD box set on 2 May. Vinyl versions of the two individual albums will be released later this year. The Piano Concerto in G's central Adagio assai is available to stream/download from 7 February.
Cho's forthcoming marathon performance of the complete solo works at Carnegie Hall on 5 February will be livestreamed exclusively on STAGE+. Subscribers can also enjoy his showcase performance of a selection of this repertoire filmed at Berlin's Siemens-Villa in autumn 2024.
While the Concerto for the Left Hand is a relatively recent addition to his repertoire, Seong-Jin Cho is very familiar with Ravel's other work in the genre, having made his debuts with the Seoul Philharmonic (aged just 15) and the Berliner Philharmoniker (aged 23) in the Concerto in G major. Both works date from the latter years of Ravel's career and are influenced by jazz and blues music.
Notoriously difficult to play, the Concerto for the Left Hand is notable for its dark sonorities, while the more lighthearted Concerto in G major achieves an exquisite combination of jazz and the Classicism of Mozart and Saint-Saëns. "For me," says Cho, "the highlight of the Concerto in G is the second movement [Adagio assai] - the long piano solo at the beginning. It's one of the most touching movements in the piano literature."
The recordings were made live at Boston's Symphony Hall with
Andris Nelsons and the
Boston Symphony Orchestra. The
Boston Globe hailed the way "Cho's hand glided and bounced across the keyboard with confident grace and dynamic nuance" in the Concerto for the Left Hand.
Referencing the BSO's expertise in the French repertoire, rooted in the work of Nelsons' predecessors
Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch and Sergei Koussevitzky, Cho notes, "You feel like the French spirit is in the BSO's blood - it was so inspiring to play and record with them, and of course working with
Andris is always a real joy."
For his part, when discussing the process of performing and recording with Cho, Nelsons has nothing but high praise for the pianist: "Exploring the vivid colours and textures of Ravel's piano concertos together with Seong-Jin Cho and the BSO has been an extraordinary experience. Seong-Jin's artistry and profound understanding of Ravel's intricate sound world bring a rare elegance and emotional depth to these works," he says.
Cho's anniversary focus on Ravel continues with a major tour of the US during February and March. In April and May he makes recital appearances at London's Barbican Centre and venues throughout Germany, notably Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie and the Berlin Philharmonie, as part of his season as Artist in Residence with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
Cho will perform both Ravel's Piano Concerto in G and the Concerto for Left Hand with Nelsons and the BSO on 12 July 2025 at Tanglewood's Koussevitzky
Music Shed. On 16 July he will perform the complete solo piano works in recital at Tanglewood's Ozawa Hall. (Tickets to the Tanglewood concerts go on public sale on 6 March at bso.org). Further dates follow in Asia and the US through the summer.
