Combining liveliness with delicacy, Seong-Jin Cho’s piano playing is as colourful as it is virtuosic; his natural musicality and extraordinary talent distinguish him as an unmistakeable artist on the contemporary music scene. Born in 1994 in Seoul, he began learning the piano aged six and gave his first solo recital aged 11. In 2009 Seong-Jin Cho was the youngest prize-winner at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, winning third prize at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Piano Competition only two years later. He went on to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and achieved worldwide acclaim on winning the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2015.

Now resident in Berlin, this young pianist gives concerts with some of the most well-known ensembles. Some of the highlights of his 2020/21 season include a re-invitation to the Berlin Philharmonic and his debut with the Munich Philharmonic. More recent and forthcoming highlights include concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony and the New York Philharmonic Orchestras. Seong-Jin Cho also gives guest appearances with his solo recitals in some of the world’s greatest concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Konzerthaus Wien as well as at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and the Rheingau Music Festival. Seong-Jin Cho is an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon and his previously released albums have already received international acclaim from the critics. His latest album of Chopin’s 2nd Piano Concerto and the four Scherzos is due for release in August 2021.

In recent years, Duncan Ward has established himself as one of the most exciting and versatile conductors of his generation, whose lively interpretations of the classical repertoire are praised as much as his interpretations of 20th century masterpieces. He has been chief conductor of the Philzuid (South Netherlands Philharmonic) since 2021. He also regularly conducts orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Finnish Radio Symphony and other renowned orchestras. His great passion for a very wide-ranging repertoire also leads to collaborations with ensembles for historical instruments such as Les Siècles or Balthasar Neumann as well as with specialists for contemporary music such as the Ensemble Modern or the Ensemble Intercontemporain.

The current season’s symphonic highlights include debuts with the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Osaka Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique du Quebec and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra. In 2022, the conductor made his North American debut at the Metropolitan Opera with Mozart’s ›Die Zauberflöte‹. Duncan Ward opened the 2024/25 season with a critically acclaimed debut at the English National Opera and a new production of Britten’s ›Turn of the Screw‹. Since his youth, this versatile musician has been involved in many international social projects, including in India and South Africa. He has maintained a close relationship with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen for many years.