In a companion to Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works released in January, Seong-Jin Cho continues his celebration of the Maurice Ravel 150th anniversary year with the composer’s two piano concertos. The recordings were made live at Boston’s Symphony Hall with Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Cho’s critically acclaimed 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. Notoriously difficult to play, the Concerto for the Left Hand is notable for its dark sonorities, while the more lighthearted Concerto in G major achieves an exquisite combination of jazz and the Classicism of Mozart and Saint-Saëns.

“For me,” says Cho, “the highlight of the Concerto in G is the second movement – the long piano solo at the beginning. It’s one of the most touching movements in the piano literature.”