Seong-Jin Cho

Co-presented with Philharmonic Society of Orange County (PSOC)

     “Cho is a master. He displayed an impressive variety of tonal colors and remarkable technique, dispatched with jaw-dropping panache. He had something to say and communicated it well.”
The Wall Street Journal

“To hear Cho breathe tenderness and freedom into this music while giving it a sturdy rhythmic profile was a striking thing.”
San Francisco Chronicle

Pre-concert lecture at 7pm

PROGRAM:

HAYDN Piano Sonata in E minor, Hob. XVI/34
RAVEL Menuet sur le nom de Haydn
RAVEL Miroirs
INTERMISSION
MOZART Adagio in B minor, K. 540
LISZT Sonetto 47, 104, 123 del Petrarca from Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième Année: “Italie” S. 161
LISZT Après une lecture du Dante. Fantasia quasi Sonata from Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième Année: “Italie” S. 161

With an innate musicality and overwhelming talent, 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. His thoughtful and poetic, assertive and tender, virtuosic, and colourful playing can combine panache with purity and is driven by an impressive natural sense of balance.

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 January 2016, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. An artist high in demand, Cho works with the world’s most prestigious orchestras including Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, New York Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Conductors he regularly collaborates with include Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Simon Rattle, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Lahav Shani.

Highlights of Seong-Jin Cho’s 2023/24 season include his anticipated debut at the Salzburger Festspiele with the Mozarteumorchester and Ivor Bolton, and his return to London’s BBC Proms with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Santtu-Matias Rouvali. He notably returns to the Concertgebouworkest, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra, giving performances in both Boston and Carnegie Hall, and makes anticipated debuts with The Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco and Chicago Symphony Orchestras. A highly sought-after touring soloist, Cho embarks on several international tours, including with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko in Korea, and with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Andris Nelsons in Korea and Japan. He also performs with the National Symphony Orchestra Washington and Gianandrea Noseda throughout Europe in Spring 2024.

An active recitalist very much in demand, Seong-Jin Cho appears in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls including the main stage of Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Berliner Philharmonie, Musikverein Wien, Konzerthaus Wien, Prinzregententheater München, Barbican London, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Walt Disney Hall Los Angeles, Festival International de piano de la Roque d’Anthéron, and Verbier Festival. During the coming season he is engaged to perform solo recitals at halls including the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, KKL Luzern, Sala Santa Cecilia, Megaron Athens and Carnegie Hall.

Seong-Jin Cho’s latest recording is his solo album entitled The Handel Project, released in February 2023, and in August 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 May 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 November 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 de Paris. Seong-Jin Cho is now based in Berlin.

For our December performances, we’re partnering with the Laguna Food Pantry and will have donation bins for highly requested food items to go to the most vulnerable in our community. Consider bringing a can (or two!) for donation. More info HERE