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Pianist Cho Seong-jin to launch nationwide tour featuring Ravel's works
The official poster for pianist Cho Seong-jin's upcoming tour in Korea / Courtesy of Credia Music & Artists
By Pyo Kyung-min
Pianist Cho Seong-jin will embark on a nationwide recital tour in June to mark the release of his album featuring the complete solo piano works of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875–1937).
Concert organizer Credia Music & Artists announced Monday that Cho will hold eight commemorative performances across Korea, beginning on June 12 at Arts Center Incheon. The tour will continue through July with stops in Seoul on June 14 and 17, Seongnam on June 15, Daegu on June 20, Gimhae on June 21, Daejeon on July 2 and Cheonan on July 6.
The tour commemorates the 150th anniversary of Ravel's birth and is part of Cho's larger project to present the French composer's complete solo piano repertoire along with his two piano concertos.
Cho previously released the first part of this project, "Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works," on Jan. 17. A second album, featuring Ravel's piano concertos recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, was released on Feb. 21.
Following the album releases, Cho launched an international recital tour that has already made stops at major venues around the world.
He performed in Vienna on Jan. 25, followed by appearances in New York on Feb. 5 and Los Angeles on Feb. 11. He will perform in Berlin on April 29, London on May 2 and Hamburg on May 13.
For the Korean leg of the tour, Cho is set to present two distinct programs.
The pianist will perform all 12 of Ravel's solo piano pieces in a three-hour recital with two intermissions. In a separate set, he will explore the theme of nature through works by Liszt, Beethoven, Bartók and Brahms.
Cho has a long-standing connection to French piano music, having studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris.
"Ravel's music might sound impressionistic at first," Cho once said, "but it actually has a much clearer structure than Debussy's. Debussy is emotional and imaginative, while Ravel wrote in a far more concrete way."