Cho Sung-jin plays Chopin in his recitals in Korea

“After winning the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in 2015, I avoided playing Chopin’s music out of fear that I might be considered as a Chopin specialist. Now I think I can play Chopin again.”

Pianist Cho Sung-jin is having recitals in Korea in nine months. Cho, who recently released his fifth album under the Deutsche Grammophon (DG) label, is having recitals in seven cities, including Seoul, Daegu, and Yeosu starting from Jeonju on Saturday. The album contains all four Chopin scherzos and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. At his recitals, Cho will play four scherzos of Chopin and Gaspard de la nuit by Ravel.

During a press conference held at Seoul Arts Center (SAC) on Friday, Cho played Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 and said it is special for him as he developed a relationship with conductor Chung Myung-whun and his teacher Shin Soo-jung thanks to the piece. As for Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Cho said the second movement is the most beautiful part of Chopin’s work, adding the piece is more delicate than Piano Concert No. 1.

“Until recently, I had a goal of performing at Carnegie Hall but now I don’t. My goal now is to deliver a performance I can be satisfied with since I’m happy when I perform well,” Cho said, adding the next album will contain works of Baroque composers such as Handel.

Cho’s recital in Seoul will be held at the SAC on next Tuesday. An encore concert will be held at the same place on Sept. 18. The pay-per-view event will be broadcast live on Naver TV.


gustav@donga.com