 |
| Pianist Cho Seong-jin poses at the press conference, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Yun Suh-young
Pianist Cho Seong-jin, who was catapulted to fame after winning the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition last year, spoke to fans for the first time since his win in a live internet broadcast on Wednesday.
On Naver's V Live channel and its synchronizing app, Cho's interview was simultaneously broadcast online for 90 minutes from 8 p.m. and viewed by more than 55,000 people.
Earlier that day, he spoke to the media about his recent album release with Deutsche Grammophon, which will be available from Nov. 25 in Korea; his recent U.S. tour and his daily schedule. On the V Live broadcast, Cho explained why he chose "Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1, Ballades" (featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda) and four ballades for this album.
"In the album, there are four ballades," he said. "In the competition I also played four ballades. The reason why I chose these four is because the first album I bought when I started piano at the age of nine was Krystian Zimerman's Chopin ballades. That was the first that I personally chose to buy.
"At the time, Zimerman was such a huge figure for me, like a mountain, and my dream became to play the whole repertoire like him. I still think that I'm not entirely ready, but I did my best and I'm honored to be able to record the four songs."
Cho has released several albums of his competition performances but the studio recording is released for the first time this month.
"I recorded the Piano Concerto No. 1 in June with the London Symphony Orchestra in the Abbey Road Studios and recorded the ballades in September at Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg, Germany," Cho said.
"When I arrived, I was doubtful about the studio because it was just a school in a remote countryside. When I walked in, I was even more doubtful because it looked so plain. But the moment I sat at the piano, I realized this was a great studio. It had great acoustics."
Cho recorded for 12 hours on the first two days, six hours each day on two songs. On the third day, he went through all four songs. It was the last day's performance that went into the album.
"I think the comfortable feeling of having finished made me play better on the last day," he said. "I'll take that into account for my next album.
"When you're recording solo, you have no idea how you're doing. Sitting all by yourself in an empty room feels rather lonely."
For Korean fans, Cho's new album in Korea features one more piece — Chopin's Nocturne No. 20.
"I always thought this song is cold," Cho said. "It has a lot of emotions in it — from happy to sad."
Cho will be busy next year, with several performances scheduled. He will hold a recital at the Lotte Concert Hall on Jan. 3-4, followed by a Carnegie Hall recital in February. He will then embark on a tour to Taiwan and Japan.
"Next year's repertoire will be French," he said. "The studio album will be of French composer Debussy's works, including 'Images,' 'Clair de Lune' and 'Suite Bergamasque,' to name a few."
On Naver's V Live channel and its synchronizing app, Cho's interview was simultaneously broadcast online for 90 minutes from 8 p.m. and viewed by more than 55,000 people.
Earlier that day, he spoke to the media about his recent album release with Deutsche Grammophon, which will be available from Nov. 25 in Korea; his recent U.S. tour and his daily schedule. On the V Live broadcast, Cho explained why he chose "Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1, Ballades" (featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Noseda) and four ballades for this album.
"In the album, there are four ballades," he said. "In the competition I also played four ballades. The reason why I chose these four is because the first album I bought when I started piano at the age of nine was Krystian Zimerman's Chopin ballades. That was the first that I personally chose to buy.
"At the time, Zimerman was such a huge figure for me, like a mountain, and my dream became to play the whole repertoire like him. I still think that I'm not entirely ready, but I did my best and I'm honored to be able to record the four songs."
Cho has released several albums of his competition performances but the studio recording is released for the first time this month.
"I recorded the Piano Concerto No. 1 in June with the London Symphony Orchestra in the Abbey Road Studios and recorded the ballades in September at Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg, Germany," Cho said.
"When I arrived, I was doubtful about the studio because it was just a school in a remote countryside. When I walked in, I was even more doubtful because it looked so plain. But the moment I sat at the piano, I realized this was a great studio. It had great acoustics."
Cho recorded for 12 hours on the first two days, six hours each day on two songs. On the third day, he went through all four songs. It was the last day's performance that went into the album.
"I think the comfortable feeling of having finished made me play better on the last day," he said. "I'll take that into account for my next album.
"When you're recording solo, you have no idea how you're doing. Sitting all by yourself in an empty room feels rather lonely."
For Korean fans, Cho's new album in Korea features one more piece — Chopin's Nocturne No. 20.
"I always thought this song is cold," Cho said. "It has a lot of emotions in it — from happy to sad."
Cho will be busy next year, with several performances scheduled. He will hold a recital at the Lotte Concert Hall on Jan. 3-4, followed by a Carnegie Hall recital in February. He will then embark on a tour to Taiwan and Japan.
"Next year's repertoire will be French," he said. "The studio album will be of French composer Debussy's works, including 'Images,' 'Clair de Lune' and 'Suite Bergamasque,' to name a few."
