Pianist Seong-Jin Cho Hits One Out of the Park at Tanglewood

A New Classical Music Star is Born or Discovered by the Home Team Crowd

I had the sublime privilege of hearing noted and internationally accomplished pianist Seong-Jin Cho play Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Opus 83 under the superb conducting of Andris Nelsons, Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon yesterday. I had frankly not previously heard of Mr. Cho, not that my lack of knowledge diminishes the importance of the event. So, I eagerly read the Tanglewood Program Notes to better understand who Mr. Cho was and what the audience should expect. Despite stellar performance accomplishments, this was Mr. Cho’s Tanglewood debut, he having made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall in Boston in March 2020.

His bio in the Program Notes told us he was born in 1994 in Seoul, South Korea, making him only 28 at his Tanglewood debut. Like all phenoms, he began studying piano at age 6 and gave his first public recital at 11, In 2009, he “became the youngest ever winner of Japan’s Hamamatsu International Piano Competition, and in 2011 he won Third Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at then the age of 17.” Younger than Van Cliburn when the Texan won the Tchaikovsky Competition. Program Notes continued to let us know that Cho in 2015 won the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, so in 2016 he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Gramophone. Those Germans know how to capture the rights to a winner. Cho has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with one of my favorite conductors, Gustavo Dudamel, with the New Yotk Philharmonic with Jaap van Zweden conducting, with the Orchestre National de France with Cristian Macelaru conducting and with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin with my old Philadelphia friend, Christoph Eschenbach conducting. Among his soloist performances now recorded by DG of “a Mozart album” with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with Philadelphia’s own, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, who we graciously share with the Met and orchestras around the world, including his native Montreal.

So being loaded for listening bear, we fully expect Cho to hit one out of the park, and he did not disappoint.

Now I will confess that this is my first rodeo as a music critic, having accomplished this Berkshires weekend, my own debut as an art critic and a theater critic, see my reviews at: haroldrberk.substack.com. So I will confess to a bit of stage fright as I try to enter the august world of classical music critics. But I had the very good fortune to be seated next to a real, accomplished music professional: Dr. Thomas J. Parente, a composer, pianist, teacher and Professor at Westminster Choir College, living in Montclair, NJ and having recently acquired a Berkshires house in Lee, Mass. Now how is that for luck of the seating draw on this my first classical music critic rodeo?

Now the hard part; the review of the performance. Cho started the Brahms with a bang out of the gate. His emphatic playing and finesse with the keyboard was outstanding. Now this is my observation, though I did test it on Dr. Parente without negative comment. So. I felt that Cho was a cross between Lang Lang and Daniil Trifonov but without Lang Lang’s extreme theatricality. Cho has a smoother presentation than Lang Lang, and the Third Movement of the Brahms showed that Cho has Trifonov’s dexterity and ability to play softly and with finesse unlike the First and Fourth movements of the Brahms concerto needing piano key intense banging which I confess to enjoy. It stirs the blood and gets one ready for whatever life has to throw at you and the world.

Cho’s performance and that of Andris Nelsons as conductor of the BSO were a great fit together. One complemented the other with neither trying to steal the show, though it is hard to say Cho’s performance was anything but stellar.

At the conclusion the audience leapt to their feet as in unison with loud clapping and Dr. Parente’s baritone Bravos punctuating the applause. Cho and Nelsons returned to the stage after first departing to the sustained loud applause and those periodic Bravos from all sides of the audience. Then Cho returned alone to give an encore performance which was smooth, romantic and measured. I guessed Cho was playing Chopin, as he is about to release a Chopin album, but Dr. Parente said, good uneducated guess, but it was Bach. I stand corrected.

Needless to say a thoroughly enjoyable performance. Now I hope Dr. Parente will invite me to one of his performances. Perhaps during my next Tanglewood trip on August 8 to hear one of my absolute favorites: Joshua Bell, who I have heard play at Tanglewood, at the Philadelphia Orchestra and in a recital in St. Petersburg, Russia in duo with Jeremy Denk on the piano.

So that’s all folks, and I hope you give me a passing grade on this my first classical music critic attempt. Coming up in two weeks, Joshua Bell, and then in three weeks everyone’s favorite, local boy, Yo Yo Ma. I remember attending a solo performance by Yo Yo at the Philadelphia, and after intermission he was spotted sitting in the last row of the cellists, just being one of the visiting members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and done without fanfare or comment; he just enjoyed playing with others.