Conductor Simon Rattle (right) and pianist Cho Seong-jin are posing at Lotte Concert Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 19th. Yonhap News
Cho Seong-jin (30), a top pianist from Korea, said, “Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 is a very difficult piece physically and mentally. But the maestro and orchestra were so great that I forgot how difficult it was.” Simon Rattle (69), a world-renowned British conductor, said, “I know that Seong-Jin Cho is very allergic to praise,” but added, “Seong-Jin Cho himself may not know how good he is. “There are few musicians who can perform like this with a symphony orchestra,” he responded with a smile.
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO), a renowned orchestra, will perform at the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul on the 20th and 21st. The orchestra, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, is visiting Korea for the first time in six years since joining Zubin Mehta in 2018. Seong-Jin Seong will be the only collaborator on BRSO’s Asia tour, which starts in Korea and continues for 12 concerts in Japan and Taiwan. This is unusual compared to the practice of selecting artists from each country as collaborators for each tour region. When asked the reason at a press conference held at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul on the 19th, Rattle again revealed his faith in Cho Seong-jin. “The reason is simple. “It’s to give you a better performance.”
The program for the first day of this concert in Korea is Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 2. The second day is Webern’s ‘Six Pieces for Orchestra’, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9. Rattle explained each song in an easy-to-understand manner using interesting metaphors. The Brahms Piano Concerto is “a work in which the pianist and the symphony orchestra absolutely rely on each other” and “a work in which the ball is passed back and forth like tennis.” If one side passes the ball too quickly, it is difficult for the other side to receive it. He said that Webern’s piece is “a work that is like a bonsai of Mahler and Wagner” and that “it is a work that encapsulates amazing expressions in each note.” Bruckner’s posthumous work, Symphony No. 9, is “a piece with a unique personality that is more shocking than any of Bruckner’s works.” Cho Seong-jin explained, “Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 shows a passionate and young Brahms, but No. 2 is warm and symphonic, so the role of the orchestra is very important.”
On the 19th, the ‘Press Conference for Sir Simon Rattle & Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra pianist Cho Seong-jin’ was held at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. From left, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra representatives Nicolaus Font, Seong-Jin Cho, and Simon Rattle. Yonhap News
Rattle served as BRSO’s principal conductor for the 2023-2024 season after working with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. A teenage boy who dreamed of becoming a conductor after listening to the BRSO’s Beethoven Symphony No. 9 led by Raphael Kubelik in his hometown of Liverpool, England, became BRSO’s permanent conductor, a position that had been vacant for four years following the death of legendary conductor Mariss Jansons. Rattle said, “When I first came to Munich (where the BRSO is located), I expected it to be similar to the Berlin Philharmonic since it is a German orchestra, but while the Berlin Philharmonic is strong, the BRSO is much more flexible, smooth, and collaborative.” He added, “Over the past 30 to 40 years, orchestras around the world have Although it has made great progress in terms of technique, it is rare for an orchestra to be described as a ‘poet’. “BRSO is an orchestra like a poet,” he said. Rattle expressed BRSO with two German words that he couldn’t translate into English and didn’t want to. One is ‘innerlich,’ which means ‘inner feelings that are not revealed on the outside,’ and the other is ‘weich,’ which means ‘warmth and depth beyond softness.’
Cho Seong-jin entered his 30s this year. He grew into a world-class pianist after causing a sensation by winning the Chopin International Piano Competition in 2015. In the 2024-2025 season, he will be serving as a resident musician at the Berlin Philharmonic and presenting a variety of programs. He once said, “I want to play Brahms in my 30s,” and has already been playing Brahms for two years. He said, “I decided that I shouldn’t be hasty in saying ‘what I’m going to do from now on,’” and “I was afraid of my 30s when I was in my 20s, but now that it’s actually happened, it feels like an extension of my 20s. There are also plans to premiere contemporary music next year. “I will prepare as hard as I do now,” he said.
Senior Reporter Baek Seung-chan myungworry@kyunghyang.com
How do Simon Rattle and Cho Seong-jin interpret the emotional depth of Brahms’ music in their upcoming performance?
1. Can you discuss the significance of Conductor Simon Rattle and Pianist Cho Seong-jin’s upcoming performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 together with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra?
2. What are some of the challenges that both artists face while performing this piece, and how do they overcome them to deliver a successful performance?
3. How does Rattle describe the unique characteristics of the BRSO, and what sets them apart from other orchestras he has worked with?
4. What are Cho Seong-jin’s thoughts on aging as a musician and transitioning into his 30s? How do these changes impact his approach to music and his performance style?
5. What are some of the lesser-known aspects of classical music that are often overlooked by audiences, and how can these elements enhance the overall experience for listeners?
