조성진 카네기홀 라벨 왼피협 대극찬하는 평론임


After Ms. León’s piece came a piano concerto—Ravel’s in D major, for the left hand alone. Our soloist was Seong-Jin Cho, the young Korean. He is from Seoul, yes—but he is also a French pianist, in a way. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Michel Béroff, one of our best players of Ravel, Debussy, et al.


And Cho’s playing of the concerto was very, very French. It was intelligent, beautiful, stylish. Simply exemplary.

Before I proceed, maybe we could have a physical note. As he played, Cho gripped the piano with his right arm. This seemed to provide stability, or a kind of leverage.

With that left hand, he sang, resonantly. When he played triple forte, he did not pound. The notes were rounded, deep into the keys. Never did Cho depart from beauty in this piece. The playing was also sensual, passionate. Cho has the gift of being emotional without emoting, if I may. There were the right hints of jazz. In the final cadenza, the notes shimmered like water.


And allow me a peculiar detail. Toward the end of the concerto, there are some interesting F naturals. Cho accented these in an unusual and effective way. They sounded like panting—almost a physical ache.

If the pianist made beautiful sounds, so did the orchestra. The bso really sounded like an aristocrat, and a French aristocrat in particular. When the saxophone wailed, he (or she) did so with refinement.


As the audience applauded, Maestro Nelsons had many of the players stand—even before the soloist had returned to the wings for the first time. I had never seen this, in a lifetime of concertgoing. Ever. Seong-Jin Cho just stood there and clapped as player after player rose.



https://newcriterion.com/blogs/dispatch/aristocracy-savagery

Aristocracy & savagery, by Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger on a concert of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall.

newcriterion.com