Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Seong-Jin Cho, piano. Deutache Grammophon 486 6814

 

Before sitting down at my computer to write this review, I did a quick search for an old review I had done of a previous release of the complete solo piano music of Ravel so that I could provide a link to that review. To my surprise, however, I found that I never actually have posted a review of the complete Ravel piano solo works. Oh well, there’s a first time for everything, right?  

As seems to be the norm with DG these days, portraits of the artist – in this case, the young Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho (b. 1994) – appear throughout the trifold digipack, his picture appearing twice on the inside as well as adorning both the front and back covers. The liner note booklet cover is duplicate of the front cover, and the gray and pink background colors are carried over throughout the booklet. The track listings are a bit of a strain to read because of minimal color contrast for the text. When it comes to the notes themselves, the good news is that the text is now black; the bad news is that the font is tiny – as in teeny-tiny. Even eyes much younger than mine may find the text difficult to discern.

 

Seong-Jin Cho is one of the rising young generation of talented pianists who are rapidly making a name for themselves on the international stage. He won the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition at the age of 21, a remarkable achievement. His playing throughout these two CDs is impeccable: clean, precise, nimble. This approach works especially well in pieces such as Menuet Antique, where the clarity of his fingering (and of the engineering) makes the music come to life. Overall, the clarity of his playing makes for a satisfying listening experience, although that same precision and clarity can also at times lead to a feeling of sterility. Overall, then, a worthy release, one that will go on my shelf along with Abbey Simon (Vox) and Vlado Perlemuter (Nimbus), neither of which can match the sound quality of this new DG release. With 2025 marking the 150^th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, there are going to be a multitude of Ravel releases this year; if the quality of this one is any indication, it’s going to be a rewarding celebration.