Chopin & Jae-Hyuck Cho - Ballades (CD)

Jae-Hyuck Cho plays Chopin's extraordinary four Ballades and Sonata No. 3 in recordings that stand out for their nuance, passion and almost Lisztian virtuosity. Jae-Hyuck Cho is remarkable for pursuing a highly successful dual career as both pianist and organist, and he brings the sense of musical space and grandeur inherent in his organ playing to his piano performances. There is great subtlety and delicacy, too, in the Chopin interpretations heard on this album. Chopin pioneered the Ballade form, creating four distinct and deeply original works, from the ardent episodes of the first and dramatic contrasts of the second, to the warm, sunny Ballade No. 3 and poetic, lyrical No. 4. The Sonata No. 3 epitomises the Romantic spirit and remains one of Chopin's greatest achievements. Jae-Hyuck Cho performs these works with flair and originality, seeking to shed new light on celebrated repertoire and reflecting praise received by Classical Explorer on his Rachmaninov: "... these are supremely integrated, thought-through performances... full of beauty and fluency... Cho's marriage of fire and lyricism is perfectly judged."