The sensational South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho, the best-selling winner of the International Chopin Competition, shares his love for an often neglected corner of the keyboard repertoire: Handel's Keyboard Suites. Each suite is brilliantly characterful and brimming with life, and Cho has selected his three absolute favourites to play in full. Another lover of Handel's Keyboard Suites was Johannes Brahms - so Cho pairs the suites with the later composer's spectacular 'Handel Variations' op. 24. Cho finds that Baroque music gives the performer a good deal of leeway. 'You can use a certain amount of pedal and play these works in a very Romantic way'. As a result the Korean pianist has sought as far as possible to avoid using the sustaining pedal 'in order to ensure greater clarity'. On the other hand, he has altered some of the dynamics in order to exploit the possibilities of a modern piano. 'I really worked on my technique a lot as I wanted to bring out all of the voices. I tried to maintain different colours in them all. And I imagined a concerto grosso. The lefthand voice, for example, could sound like a bassoon. Or a voice in the right hand could sound like a violin'. voice in the right hand could sound like a violin'.
Track Listing:
1. Suite no. 2 in F major, HWV427, I. Adagio (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
2. Suite no. 2 in F major, HWV427, II. Allegro (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
3. Suite no. 2 in F major, HWV427, III. Adagio (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
4. Suite no. 2 in F major, HWV427, IV. Allegro (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
5. Suite no. 8 in F minor, HWV433, I. Prélude (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
6. Suite no. 8 in F minor, HWV433, II. Allegro (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
7. Suite no. 8 in F minor, HWV433, III. Allemande (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
8. Suite no. 8 in F minor, HWV433, IV. Courante (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
9. Suite no. 8 in F minor, HWV433, V. Gigue (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
10. Suite no. 5 in E major, HWV430, I. Prélude (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
11. Suite no. 5 in E major, HWV430, II. Allemande (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
12. Suite no. 5 in E major, HWV430, III. Courante (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
13. Suite no. 5 in E major, HWV430, IV. Air and Variations 'The Harmonious Blacksmith' (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
14. Suite no. 7 in B-flat major, HWV440, III. Sarabande (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
15. Suite in B-flat major, HWV434, IV. Minuet (George Frideric Handel) - Seong-Jin Cho
1. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Aria (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
2. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 1 (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
3. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 2. Animato (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
4. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 3. Dolce (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
5. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 4. Risoluto (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
6. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 5. Espressivo (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
7. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 6 (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
8. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 7. Con Vivacita (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
9. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 8 (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
10. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 9. Poco Sostenuto (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
11. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 10. Energico (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
12. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 11. Dolce (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
13. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 12. Soave (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
14. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 13. Largamente, Ma Non Più (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
15. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 14. Sciolto (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
16. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 15 (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
17. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 16. Ma Marcato (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
18. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 17. Più Mosso (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
19. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 18. Grazioso (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
20. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 19. Leggiero E Vivace (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
21. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 20. Legato (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
22. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 21. Dolce (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
23. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 22 (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
24. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 23. Vivace E Staccato (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
25. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 24 (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
26. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Variation 25 (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
27. Variations and fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24, Fugue (Johannes Brahms) - Seong-Jin Cho
