Seong-Jin Cho

"Cho’s playing combines poetic lyricism with intelligent texturing", "dazzling panache with melodious storytelling". Seong-Jin Cho is clearly one of the leading pianists of his generation and one of the rare few who are not only in perfect control of their instrument but also have the gift of conjuring up a spellbinding musical narrative. The Korean superstar will be showing us exactly what this means at his ProArte concert. The programme spans several eras from magical Mozart and heavenly Prokofiev to the contemporary composer Jörg Widmann. In each case, Cho has selected works that tell their own story. We hear the tale of love between Romeo and Juliet, the story of conflict and reconciliation in Prokofiev’s “War” Sonata and the legend about a very old Goethe asking a very young Mendelssohn to sight-read an unpublished fragment of a piano piece by Mozart. Jörg Widmann’s Sonatina Facile is more of a lighthearted message than a story, sent back across the centuries to Mozart and spiked with references to the original Sonata Facile.