Pianist CHO Seong-jin (left) and Professor SHIN Soo-jung
Cho Seong-jin was the first Korean to win the 17th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, October 21st. This prestigious competition is held every five years for pianists between the age of 16 and 30, to carry on the Polish composer’s musical legacy.
In his interview, Cho recalls being impressed with Chopin’s compositions at a very young age: “It became my dream to participate in the competition since I was 11.”
At 11 years old, Cho was playing Chopin’s Concerto No. 2 B-flat Minor at the Mozart concert hall in Seocho-dong, Seoul. In the audience was Seoul National University former dean of the College of Music, Shin Soo-jung, now 73 years old.
“I was shocked at the elementary school child’s performance of Chopin’s Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Minor. Can there be a child who plays this well? That was Cho Seong-jin. I met up with him separately and spoke with him afterwards, and found out that despite his age, he had a calling for music. He did not just imitate his teachers. He knew what he wanted very clearly and surely.”
Shin was there when her pupil won the 2009 Hamamatsu competition, and placed third in both the 2011 Tchaikovsky and 2014 Rubenstein competitions.
“In these competitions, often times the person you want to win doesn’t. You just have to accept the results. I feel like it was just a time that had to pass in order to win at the Chopin competition.”
Shin says these are the words she used to console her pupil at the time. Shin understood Cho’s disappointments and setbacks, for she was a pianist herself. It was only after countless competitions, and studies in Europe, that led her to become a professor at Seoul National University at the young age of 26.
Like Cho, Shin’s talent was recognized when she was in 4th grade herself in her hometown at Cheongju, Korea. A mentor, who was fleeing from a northern city during war-ridden Korea, noticed her playing and connected her to other mentors who also lauded her skills and sought to encourage her musical career. After building her domestic reputation, Shin went to study abroad at Austria, which she describes as a turning point in her life. At Austria, she was introduced to the concept of urtext, which is the printed version with the composer’s original intentions, without any alterations or interpretative variations. Upon finishing her education, she played under famous conductors like John Pritchard in the London Philharmonic, Wolfgang Sawallisch in the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Hans von Benda in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
From her experience, Shin has drawn the conclusion that musical education is mainly founded on patience, and meeting the right people.
“[In musical education], time is important. You must invest a lot of time in a student with talent. You cannot forget experience too, of course. Sometimes, your investment may turn out to be unfruitful. In the end, teaching is founded on relationships, a special connection.”
Written by Ho Jung Annie Hwang, SNU English Editor, annieohan@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr