Concert information
Artist in Residence
Info
Aleady as a child, artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho was impressed by “the brilliant and dramatic expression” of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. His view has since evolved, he says: “This music is not only fiery, but also lyrical, deep and broad”. He will perform the work with Jakub Hrůša, chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. The Concerto for Orchestra, which shifts between melancholy and joie de vivre, is also one of Béla Bartók’s most popular works. Leoš Janáček’s folk suite from the opera Osud (Fate), on the other hand, is a rarely performed.
Artists
Berliner Philharmoniker
Jakub Hrůša conductor
Seong-Jin Cho piano
Programme
Leoš Janáček
Osud (Fate), Suite (arr. František Jílek)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in E flat major, op. 73
Seong-Jin Cho piano
Interval
Béla Bartók
Concerto for Orchestra, Sz 116
Additional information
Duration ca. 2 hours and 15 minutes (incl. 20 minutes interval)
Main Auditorium
26 to 82 €
Introduction
19:15
Series H: Concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Main Auditorium
26 to 82 €
Introduction
19:15
Series E: Concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Main Auditorium
26 to 82 €
Introduction
18:15
Series F: Concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker
Artist in Residence Seong-Jin Cho
in conversation
Find out when microphones make Seong-Jin Cho nervous, that a pianist’s work never ends, and why the sound of the piano cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence.
Lightning-fast keyboard wizardry
Ludwig van Beethoven the pianist
Ludwig van Beethoven was a piano prodigy; he enjoyed the greatest successes of his early career as a pianist. Because of this, he composed mainly for himself. However, as his hearing deteriorated, this changed.
Biographies
Jakub Hrůša
Jakub Hrůša is regarded as a specialist in the music of his Czech homeland. He has appeared in this capacity with the Berliner Philharmoniker on numerous occasions since his debut in 2018: his interpretations of works by Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů and Kabeláč have received widespread acclaim. But Czech music only makes up about a third of his repertoire. At one of his most recent appearances with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Hrůša was able to show another facet of his artistry to the audience, conducting the world premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Keyframes for a Hippogriff and Anton Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony.
Born in Brno and educated at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, Jakub Hrůša is one of the leading conductors of his generation. After studying with Jiří Bělohlávek, he began his career as artistic director of the Prague Philharmonia, and went on to become chief conductor of the Bamberger Symphoniker in 2016. He will be Music Director of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden from the beginning of the 2025/26 season and, in addition to his numerous international engagements, will also serve as Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. His secret? As a conductor, he says, you have to be prepared to use “your instincts, your gut feeling and your heart” in concert.
Seong-Jin Cho
In October 2015, the Korean pianist won first prize at the 17th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw – and his live recording made it to number one in the pop charts with over three million albums sold. With an unmistakable touch, poetic and grippingly virtuoso interpretations and his own unique sound. Seong-Jin Cho sees his main task as “understanding the composer, his music, his language and his emotions better and better”, which is why he is constantly developing his interpretations. This is the “most fascinating part of being a musician, everything is a lifelong journey in which I find my own interpretation and my own voice”.
Seong-Jin Cho, who gave his first public concert at the age of eleven and studied with Michel Béroff at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, made his acclaimed debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2017. In the same year, he toured Asia with the orchestra and Simon Rattle as a stand-in for Lang Lang, followed by the next joint concert tour to South Korea and Japan under Kirill Petrenko in 2023. This season, the “poet at the piano” (Simon Rattle) presents the most diverse facets of his skills as Artist in Residence in concerts with the orchestra and in various chamber music ensembles.
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