Seong-Jin Cho – Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works (2025)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:11:29 minutes | 2,33 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
Having loved Ravel since childhood and immersed himself in the composer while studying at the Paris Conservatoire, the young Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho has chosen to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth in 2025 by recording his complete solo piano music and the two piano concertos.Maurice Ravel’s music has long been celebrated and interpreted by performers worldwide, but 2025 was always destined to be a standout year for the French composer, as it marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. Known for its timeless beauty and poetic, melancholic charm, Ravel’s work has a unique way of connecting with audiences from all walks of life—a reach that’s only grown thanks to its presence in literature and film.
The “Year of Ravel” has started in style with a captivating new release from South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho, who presents a complete collection of Ravel’s piano works for Deutsche Grammophon. Now in his early thirties, Cho first rose to fame when he won the top prize at the 2015 ‘Chopin Competition’ in Warsaw. A devoted fan of French music, he moved to Paris in 2012 to study under Michel Béroff at the CNSM. Since signing with Deutsche Grammophon in 2016, Cho has released a string of highly commended recordings (Mozart, Debussy, Handel, Brahms), earning the praise for his refined musicality and his ability to avoid unnecessary showmanship.
Cho’s light, crystalline touch feels tailor-made for Ravel’s musical universe—a blend of childhood nostalgia, fascination with unusual timbres, and gothic or exotic literary influences. This chronological recording of Ravel’s complete piano works skips the four-hand suite Ma mère l’Oye, which would have been wonderful to hear given Cho’s subtle and inspired interpretation. Recorded in September 2024 at Berlin’s Villa Siemens, the album is a treasure trove of tonal brilliance: the silky textures of “Noctuelles”, the shimmering waves of tones in “Une barque sur l’océan”, the dream-like stillness in “Oiseaux tristes”, the playful wit in “Alborada del gracioso”, the magical allure in “Ondine”, the dazzling virtuosity in “Scarbo”, the graceful elegance of “Valses nobles et sentimentales”, and the heartfelt homage to French Baroque harpsichordists in “Le Tombeau de Couperin”. Seong-Jin Cho’s understated, unpretentious style is a perfect match for Ravel’s music, which hides an incredible depth of tenderness beneath its polished, refined exterior. – François Hudry
Tracklist:
1-1. Seong-Jin Cho – Sérénade grotesque, M. 5 (03:25)
1-2. Seong-Jin Cho – Menuet antique, M. 7 (05:58)
1-3. Seong-Jin Cho – Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19 (06:38)
1-4. Seong-Jin Cho – Jeux d’eau, M. 30 (05:33)
1-5. Seong-Jin Cho – I. Modéré (04:40)
1-6. Seong-Jin Cho – II. Mouvement de menuet (03:15)
1-7. Seong-Jin Cho – III. Animé (03:56)
1-8. Seong-Jin Cho – I. Noctuelles (04:33)
1-9. Seong-Jin Cho – II. Oiseaux tristes (04:10)
1-10. Seong-Jin Cho – III. Une barque sur l’océan (06:48)
1-11. Seong-Jin Cho – IV. Alborada del gracioso (06:43)
1-12. Seong-Jin Cho – V. La vallée des cloches (06:01)
1-13. Seong-Jin Cho – I. Ondine (06:23)
1-14. Seong-Jin Cho – II. Le Gibet (05:48)
1-15. Seong-Jin Cho – III. Scarbo (09:15)
1-16. Seong-Jin Cho – Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn, M. 58 (01:54)
1-17. Seong-Jin Cho – I. Modéré, très franc (01:26)
1-18. Seong-Jin Cho – II. Assez lent, avec une expression intense (02:19)
1-19. Seong-Jin Cho – III. Modéré (01:23)
1-20. Seong-Jin Cho – IV. Assez animé (01:10)
1-21. Seong-Jin Cho – V. Presque lent, dans un sentiment intime (01:18)
1-22. Seong-Jin Cho – VI. Vif (00:39)
1-23. Seong-Jin Cho – VII. Moins vif (02:51)
1-24. Seong-Jin Cho – VIII. Epilogue. Lent (04:41)
1-25. Seong-Jin Cho – Prélude in A Minor, M. 65 (01:31)
1-26. Seong-Jin Cho – À la manière de Borodine, M. 63/1 (01:37)
1-27. Seong-Jin Cho – À la manière de Chabrier, M. 63/2 (01:59)
1-28. Seong-Jin Cho – I. Prélude (03:14)
1-29. Seong-Jin Cho – II. Fugue (03:29)
1-30. Seong-Jin Cho – III. Forlane (06:26)
1-31. Seong-Jin Cho – IV. Rigaudon (03:21)
1-32. Seong-Jin Cho – V. Menuet (04:59)
1-33. Seong-Jin Cho – VI. Toccata (03:51)