Pianist Seong-Jin Cho released an album featuring the complete works of Maurice Ravel’s solo piano compositions. In an interview, he emphasized the importance of texture and atmosphere in sound, describing Ravel as more intellectual and perfectionistic compared to Debussy. Cho, who previously released an album of Debussy’s piano works in 2017, aimed to highlight the differences between the two composers, noting that Debussy was freer and more romantic, whereas Ravel had a clear sense of what he wanted in his compositions.
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), Seong-Jin Cho meticulously captured the essence of Ravel’s music, aiming to stay true to the composer’s intentions. He noted that Ravel disliked performers interpreting his music arbitrarily, focusing instead on sound color, texture, and atmosphere.
Seong-Jin Cho described Ravel as a familiar figure from his childhood, having first encountered ‘The Jester’s Morning Song’ from ‘Mirrors’ in the fifth grade and later performing ‘Scarbo’ from ‘Gaspard de la nuit’ during his time at Yewon School. He expressed admiration for Ravel’s remarkable compositional skills and an acute understanding of orchestration, despite the relatively small number of works he left compared to Beethoven and Mozart.
Beginning January 25, Seong-Jin Cho is set to perform recitals around the world, featuring pieces from his latest album. In February, he will also release an album of Ravel’s piano concertos in collaboration with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andris Nelsons.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Seong-Jin Cho’s win at the 2015 Chopin Competition. Reflecting on his musical journey, Cho expressed a desire to create music that naturally conveys its meaning, striving for this during practice even though he enters a subconscious state while performing on stage.