All this week on Classic Drive, Lorcan will feature music from 'Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works' by Seong-Jin Cho.

Having loved Ravel since childhood, Seong-Jin Cho has chosen to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth by recording his complete solo piano music and the two concertos. He is joined in the latter by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons, following acclaimed live performances with them as part of his ongoing focus on the French composer. Cho’s insightful readings of Ravel, on stage and in the studio, underline his status as one of today’s most elegant and accomplished pianists, ten years on from his Chopin Competition victory.

Seong-Jin Cho has always felt a close connection with the French piano literature and found himself fully immersed in Ravel while studying at the Paris Conservatoire. Discussing the challenges of the solo works, he points to the composer’s orchestral sound and meticulous attention to detail. "Ravel really knew what he wanted, so I try to follow his specific markings," he says. "Miroirs, for example, is incredibly technically demanding. It’s so sensitive and dramatic, full of imagination and colour – it’s almost impossible to apply every marking, but I try my best!"

Tracklist

  1. Sérénade grotesque, M. 5
  2. Menuet antique, M. 7
  3. Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19
  4. Jeux d'eau, M. 30
  5. Sonatine, M. 40. I. Modéré
  6. II. Mouvement de menuet
  7. III. Animé
  8. Miroirs, M. 43. I. Noctuelles
  9. II. Oiseaux tristes
  10. III. Une barque sur l'océan
  11. IV. Alborada del gracioso
  12. V. La vallée des cloches
  13. Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55. I. Ondine
  14. II. Le Gibet
  15. III. Scarbo
  16. Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn, M. 58
  17. Valses nobles et sentimentales M. 61. I. Modéré, très franc
  18. II. Assez lent, avec une expression intense
  19. III. Modéré
  20. IV. Assez animé
  21. V. Presque lent, dans un sentiment intime
  22. VI. Vif
  23. VII. Moins vif
  24. VIII. Epilogue. Lent
  25. Prélude in A Minor, M. 65
  26. A la manière de Borodine, M 63. 1
  27. A la manière de Chabrier, M 63. 2
  28. Le tombeau de Couperin, M. 68. I. Prélude
  29. II. Fugue
  30. III. Forlane
  31. IV. Rigaudon
  32. V. Menuet
  33. VI. Toccata

Tune in at 5:20 everyday this week to hear a selection from this album on Lorcan Murray's Classic Drive.