![]() ![]() I realized that not everything was about the piano. For instance, I started seeing piano concertos in a newer way. SC: Although the influences were not direct, listening to Mahler’s symphonies broadened my horizons. YH: Do you think your awakening to Mahler influenced your piano playing in any way? A few years ago, I used to like the 1st, 3rd, and the 5th symphonies. SC: These days, I enjoy the 9th symphony. YH: Which Mahler symphony is currently your favorite? Iván Fischer, for instance, otherwise known for his distinctive Mahler conducting, excludes the 8th symphony from his repertoire.) ( Note: I suspect many find Mahler’s 8th symphony to be the odd one out among Mahler’s output. I do not seem to be able to understand it. YH: I find the 8th symphony particularly difficult. I think after the 5th came the 2nd, then the 9th. Subsequently, I became obsessed with Mahler that year. But in my 4th or 5th try, I fell in love with the music. ![]() I recall listening to this work, initially a bit confused by the complexity of it. That quote entirely captured my imaginations. Upon reading on the disc’s jacket that Mahler thought a symphony “must be like the world”, I knew I had to buy this album. On this particular day, I came across a disc of Mahler’s 5th symphony by complete chance. If I liked what I saw, I would buy that album. My usual routine was to flick through discs and see what was on their covers. I entered one of my local CD shops in London, actually to explore progressive rock albums. My interests in classical music also started with Mahler at a CD shop. And when I could see there was a traffic jam, I’d start playing Mahler's 2nd symphony ( Note: Mahler’s 2nd symphony lasts around 80 minutes and is therefore around 20 minutes longer than the 1st symphony’s duration.) ![]() Sometimes, I would fall asleep in the middle, but the timing was still perfect. So I remember listening to this symphony in my commute every day. Incidentally, that’s the exact duration of Mahler’s 1st symphony. I used to live in an area that took me about an hour to get to Yewon School. SC: So I would buy CDs and transfer them onto my portable IRIVER player. SC: Yes, it was also the time when people used to wear their earphones in this particular way (SC imitates wearing an earphone around the neck). I had completely forgotten about these devices. YH: I find it incredible that you bring up such a generational thing. SC: I had the red one (SC imitates using the tube-shaped MP3 player with both hands). YH: (excitedly) Every kid had IRIVER! There were models in blue, red, and black! My parents bought me one around the time I graduated from elementary school. But as I entered Yewon School, this portable MP3 player called IRIVER had just come out in the market. When I was in elementary school, for example, I used to listen to Krystian Zimerman's recordings a lot. SC: Naturally, piano music was always there in my life. Listening to Mahler, all the piano sonatas I was playing seemed insignificant, comparatively. ![]() In the case of the 2nd symphony, “Resurrection”, I bought the DVD. Did you select Bernstein's earlier Sony cycle or the later Deutsche Grammophon cycle? YH: Since I enjoy collecting recordings, I am curious about which Mahler cycle by Bernstein you listened to. That's when I started listening to all of Mahler's symphonies. I realized there was nothing quite like this symphony. However, I remember the first time I seriously listened to Mahler’s music was when I picked up a recording of his 1st symphony at a CD shop, conducted by Bernstein. At first, I thought the symphony was incredibly complex. The second time I listened, however, I was astonished. I cannot recall when I initially encountered the name, Gustav Mahler. YH: I suppose you are referring to Mahler symphonies? Young-Jin Hur (YH): In this new environment where you started to systematically train yourself more than ever, was there a composer you felt most attached to? For the conversation preceding this article, see Part I. The present article is part of a series of interviews with Seong-Jin Cho. Interview: Seong-Jin Cho (Series Part II) | “Listening to Mahler’s symphonies broadened my horizons” ![]()
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