Pianist Cho Seong-jin's New Album 'Banglangja' Released Today (8th)

Contains Works by Schubert, Liszt, and Berg

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Pianist Seong-Jin Cho's new album 'The Wanderer' is being released today (the 8th). This is Cho's fourth studio recording album released through Deutsche Grammophon (DG).

In this album, Seong-Jin Cho selected music by Schubert, Liszt, and Berg, each representing the early, middle, and late Romantic periods. A notable feature is that Cho personally chose the three composers and their works to compose the album. Previously, Cho's albums released by DG?'Chopin (2016)', 'Debussy (2017)', and 'Mozart (2018)'?were all albums consisting of works by a single composer.

The centerpiece of the new album, Schubert's 'Wanderer Fantasy D760', which borrows the melody from the Wanderer song cycle, is considered a somewhat melancholic yet simultaneously the most brilliant work. The 'Wanderer Song Cycle' performed with vocalist Matthias Goerne is included only in the hardcover deluxe edition.

Cho stated, "Wandering was a very important word during the Romantic era." He further explained that Schubert's travels as both a musician and a wanderer "resonate with contemporary musicians, including myself."

The music of Liszt and Berg is united under the concept of fantasy. Cho focused on their imagination, saying, "What fascinated me was the composers' skill to create such masterpieces with very limited material."

In particular, the pieces included in this album share the commonality of sounding like a single movement with all movements connected. Especially Liszt's Piano Sonata, which is over 30 minutes long, demands both strength and endurance from the performer. Cho said, "It was difficult to play perfectly in one take, but I recorded it in one go for the sake of flow."

Seong-Jin Cho is scheduled to meet domestic audiences through his upcoming concert tour in Korea this July.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.