Seong-Jin Cho
piano
About this Artist
Seong-Jin Cho has established himself worldwide as one of the leading pianists of his generation and most distinctive artists on the current music scene. With an innate musicality and consummate artistry, his thoughtful and poetic, virtuosic, and colorful playing can combine panache with purity and is driven by an impressive natural sense of balance.
He is celebrated across the globe for his expressive magic and illuminative insights. 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, and in 2023, Cho was awarded the prestigious Samsung Ho-Am Prize in the Arts in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the world of classical music.
An artist high in demand, Cho works with the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the 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 held the position of Artist in Residence with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
For the 2025/26 season, the London Symphony Orchestra selected Cho for its Artist Portrait series. The position sees him work with the orchestra on multiple projects across the season, with performances including the world premiere of a piano concerto by Donghoon Shin, written especially for him. The position also features touring performances across Europe, as well as chamber music concerts and a recital at LSO St Luke’s. Elsewhere, he returns to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck with performances in Pittsburgh and Carnegie Hall, to the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Andris Nelsons, and to Walt Disney Concert Hall in recital.
Cho embarks on several international tours, including his return to the Czech Philharmonic with Semyon Bychkov in Taiwan and Japan and the Münchner Philharmoniker with Lahav Shani in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. He also performed with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig with Andris Nelsons throughout Europe in autumn 2025.
Highly sought after in recital, Cho appears in the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including the main stage of the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Musikverein (Vienna), Alte Oper (Frankfurt), KKL Luzern, Sala Santa Cecilia (Rome), Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Paris), Rudolfinum (Prague), and Suntory Hall (Tokyo), as well as the Festival International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron, Carnegie Hall, and the Verbier Festival.
Cho’s latest recording for Deutsche Grammophon celebrates Ravel’s 150th birthday, presenting the composer’s complete solo piano works and concertos with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons. The project marks Cho’s first immersion into a single composer’s complete piano works, and the album was recognized with an Opus Klassik Award in the 2025 Instrumentalist of the Year category. Previous releases include his solo album The Handel Project in 2023 and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and scherzos with the London Symphony Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda in 2021.
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.