Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2; Scherzi

Seong-Jin Cho, London Symphony Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda

Released on 27/08/2021 by Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
Main artists: Seong-Jin Cho London Symphony Orchestra Gianandrea Noseda
Genre: Classical

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Seong-Jin Cho is not only an outstanding pianist, he is also the lucky winner of the 17th Warsaw Chopin Competition in 2015, the "Olympics of pianists" - at least concerning Chopin’s repertoire. Five years after his great success and the recording of Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 (Deutsche Grammophon), now comes his successor in F minor, the Piano Concerto No.2. Cho spends once again time in the studio with the London Symphony Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda, completing the romantic concerto series.

The year is 1830, and 19-year-old Frédéric Chopin, makes his concerto debut in Warsaw, including his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor. Two years later, he was to perform it in Paris, with notables including Franz Liszt and Felix Mendelssohn in the audience. It is a piece dedicated to his unhappy love story with singer Konstancja Gładkowska, and not only this heartbreak but also his brilliant compositional skills come out here. Chopin presents a work that, for the first time, truly highlights and focuses on the soloist as virtuoso. In keeping with this, Cho presents us with his outstanding technical skills as the virtuoso par excellence on this recording. Especially the recitative part in the slow middle movement which resembles an instrumental monologue, in which the pianist wants to give us his own understanding of Chopin and which the listeners follow eagerly. Together with the London Symphony Orchestra this creates a sonorous experience, and although it is flattering and lyrical, the tempo also seems a bit sluggish at times. Cho complements the Piano Concerto this time with the four Scherzos, which, compared to the ballads from the 2016 disc, bring a lot of energy to the album. He himself has often played them as a cycle in concert and reports that, despite their heterogeneity, they form a beautiful unity as a whole. We can only agree with that! The performer manages to give each piece its own unique character and shows his ability - even without much symphonic sensation.

In case you thought that was already the end - on the digital edition there is even a little encore. With three bonus tracks, including the famous "Revolutionsetüde" Op.10 No.12, Cho gives us one more final treat. © Lena Germann/Qobuz

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Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2; Scherzi

Seong-Jin Cho

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Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 20

00:08:53

Frederic Chopin, Composer - Sid McLauchlan, Producer - Rainer Maillard, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Seong-Jin Cho, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Lukas Kowalski, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel