Seong-Jin Cho was brought to the world’s attention in 2015 when he won First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, and his career has rapidly ascended since. In early 2016, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. In 2023, Cho was awarded the prestigious Samsung Ho-Am Prize in the Arts in recognition of his exceptional contributions to classical music. An artist much in demand, Cho works with the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conductors with whom he regularly collaborates include Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Antonio Pappano, Simon Rattle, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Lahav Shani.  

In the 2024/25 season Cho took up the mantle of Artist in Residence with the Berliner Philharmoniker, a position that saw him work with the orchestra on multiple projects across the season including concerto performances, chamber music collaborations, on tour to the Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden, and in recital. He returned to London’s BBC Proms, The Philadelphia Orchestra to open its season with Nézet-Séguin, the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Rouvali, and The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst. Cho embarked on several international tours, including with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Nelsons to Korea and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Rattle to Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, following a performance in Munich.  

Highly sought after in recital, Seong-Jin Cho appears in the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Musikverein (Vienna), Alte Oper (Frankfurt), KKL Luzern, Sala Santa Cecilia (Rome), Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Paris), Rudolfinum (Prague), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), as well as the Festival International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron and Verbier Festival. This season he presented the complete solo piano music of Maurice Ravel at venues including the Wiener Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Barbican Centre, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Carnegie Hall. 

Cho’s latest recording is his solo album Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works, released in early 2025. In 2023, he released his solo album The Handel Project. In 2021, he released Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Scherzi with the London Symphony Orchestra and Noseda. His first album featured the same orchestra and conductor performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and the Four Ballades. His solo album The Wanderer was released in 2020. A solo Debussy recital was released in 2017, followed by a Mozart album with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Nézet-Séguin in 2018. All albums were released on the Yellow Label and have garnered critical acclaim worldwide. 

Born in 1994 in Seoul, Seong-Jin Cho started learning the piano at age 6 and gave his first public recital at 11. In 2009, he became the youngest-ever winner of Japan’s Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. In 2011, at the age of 17, he won Third Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. From 2012 to 2015, he studied with Michel Béroff at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Cho is now based in Berlin.