https://literallylefthanded.com/2024/08/10/proms-27-review-saariaho-seong-jin-cho-and-strauss/

Proms 27 Review: Saariaho, Seong Jin Cho and Strauss

Yesterday was my first time back at the BBC Proms this year, the annual summer classical music festival hosted by the UK’s official radio station at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s always n…

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Seong Jin Cho’s performance of Mozart’s ninth piano concerto, nicknamed “Jeunehomme”, was for me the highlight of the evening. I’ve heard Seong Jin Cho live a few times now, but never playing Mozart, and last night made me realize how suitable he is to performing Mozart’s music. Never losing his cool composure in his suit and tie, his playing had real “main character energy”; not in the sense of announcing himself with force, but a more subtle sense that he knows once he quietly sits at the piano everyone in the room will fall silent and listen, and indeed listen we did.

Even with the terrible acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall, Cho’s light touch at the piano made me want to hear more and more. Despite being note-perfect, there was hardly a sense of laboured perfectionism, but everything seemed to be conjured spontaneously. The pianist, relaxed and enjoying the attention, is able to relax completely and draw from his infinitesimally nuanced palette to paint melodies sometimes richly coloured, sometimes sweetly fragile, always in happy communion with his audience. Cho did not have to force his way through the orchestra; his creativity and beautiful sound made all want to listen to him. I imagine him smirking on the inside, gliding over the keys in blissful freedom knowing he has his audience trailing by his coattails, something Mozart must have felt back in the day.

Despite everything being effortless to him, Cho never made it feel as if this music was beneath him. There was a very enticing quality to the creativity and freedom he demonstrated in his performance last night, and it served as a reminder that great pianists aren’t merely people who labour tirelessly at their craft, but also people who can have a great time onstage and in doing so, inspire their audience.