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  • Pianist

    ALBUM REVIEWS

    Jan 21, 2022 3 minutes
    Reviews by John Evans, Peter Quantrill and Warwick Thompson

    SEONG-JIN CHO

    Chopin: Concerto No 2 in F minor Op 21; 4 Scherzi. LSO/Gianandrea Noseda

     Deutsche Grammophon 4860435

    Seong-Jin Cho won the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015, the first South Korean pianist to do so. His achievement places him in the august company of pianists including Martha Argerich (1965) and Krystian Zimerman (1975). Is he in their class? Not on the strength of this disc. He’s still only 27 – and so has years to mature – but for now Cho is a glittering virtuoso who seems to that in the Concerto the recording level dips noticeably in response. In fact, the piece suffers from an imbalance in favour of Cho’s bright-sounding piano. The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, is a willing, albeit shadowy, partner.

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