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Seong-Jin Cho

Seong-Jin Cho looking at the camera against a white background

Piano sensation Seong-Jin Cho brings his musical refinement to a solo programme of Baroque dance music and the Romantic composers inspired by it.

Baroque music is closely intertwined with dance and Seong-Jin brings together works inspired by its energy and rhythmic drive. Handel supposedly describes the beats of a foundry in his Suite; years later, Brahms pays musical tribute to Handel. Sofia Gubaidulina, one of today’s most admired composers, explores the hypnotic Baroque Chaconne dance form, and Robert Schumann’s Symphonische Etüden reference the Baroque with unashamed passion.

Described by Simon Rattle as ‘a poet on the keyboard’, South Korean Seong-Jin has risen meteorically since he won the Chopin Piano Competition in 2015. Renowned for Romantic repertoire such as Chopin and Rachmaninov, tonight he travels back in time to show how deeply rooted that music is in Baroque style and its feeling of dance. Prepare simultaneously to tap your foot and have your emotions stirred.

This performance will finish at approximately 9.40pm, including a 20-minute interval

Produced by the Barbican

Supported by the Korean Cultural Centre UK. Celebrating 140 years of friendship between the UK and the Republic of Korea.

Digital programme

Seong-Jin Cho looking at the camera against a white background

Seong-Jin Cho

Frances Wilson unpacks the music in tonight's programme, exploring the influence of the Baroque era on some of the great Romantic composers. Read the free digital programme to find out more.

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Supported by

Korean Cultural Center logo

Supported by the Korean Cultural Centre UK. Celebrating 140 years of friendship between the UK and the Republic of Korea.

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