Seong-Jin Cho

Seong-Jin Cho chose music by Frédéric Chopin for his first official recording, a natural decision after securing first prize at the Sixth Moscow International Frederick Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in 2008 at age fourteen. Additional strong results in elite contests soon brought engagements with leading orchestras and conductors across the globe.

Born in Seoul on May 28, 1994, Cho started piano lessons at six and performed his initial recital at eleven. After the 2008 triumph he became the youngest winner of Japan’s Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in 2009, then earned third prize at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 2011. Two years later he relocated from Seoul to Paris to work with Michel Béroff.

During the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, Deutsche Grammophon captured and quickly issued his concerto performance, which topped bestseller lists in Korea and Poland and even reached number one on the Korean pop chart. The label subsequently signed him and released his official debut album in 2016. Throughout the 2016-2017 season Cho toured Asia with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra, visited Europe with Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra, and made recital debuts at Carnegie Hall and the Royal Concertgebouw, among other venues. Also in 2017 he issued a Debussy recital disc. The next year brought a Mozart album recorded with Yannick-Nézet-Seguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 2020 Cho released The Wanderer, featuring works by Schubert, Liszt, and Berg.