Maestra Alsop sat down with CNN’s Showtime for a special episode covering a landmark concert in Seoul featuring four virtuosi (Yunchan Lim, Yekwon Sunwoo, Seong-jin Cho, and Sunwook Kim) playing four pianos on a single stage.

Introduced as “one of classical music’s most respected voices,” Alsop brings a distinguished perspective on the piano repertoire and the next generation of artists, having conducted the Final Rounds of the past two Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions. She also garnered international attention after being moved to tears while conducting Yunchan Lim’s winning performance at the 2022 Van Cliburn Competition.

“The piano is the closest instrument to the entire orchestra,” said Alsop. “It has range, it has power, it has intimacy, it can scream something out. When I see a Steinway, there’s a sense of quality. Such a long tradition of incredible craftsmanship. We’re talking about virtuosos of the creation of the piano.”

“The young soloists of today, I mean, they really hearken back to the soloists of yesterday: Mozart, then to Franz Liszt and Rachmaninoff…. When these young artists get together, it’s something special. They have a shorthand. They can speak in code with each other. The number of hours they’ve spent learning these pieces, memorizing these pieces, it’s awe-inspiring.”

Learn more about the CNN Showtime episode and watch the trailer here.