Yunchan Lim

Yunchan Lim (Korean: 임윤찬; born: March 20, 2004) is a pianist from Siheung, South Korea. In 2022 at 18 years old, Lim became the youngest person ever to win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

In 2018, Lim won second prize and the Chopin Special Award in the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists. The same year, he was the youngest participant in the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition where he won third prize and the audience prize.[7] In 2019, he became the youngest-ever winner of the Isang Yun Competition at 15 years old. In June 2022, Lim won gold at the Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, making him the youngest-ever winner. Lim caught the attention of the piano world with his rendition in the semifinal round of the complete Transcendental Études of Franz Liszt. His performance in the final round of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #3, however, stunned everyone with phenomenal speed, power, accuracy, and musicianship. The videos of this gold medal concerto performance have gone viral on YouTube, garnering over 12 million views combined. Lim took two special awards, one for the audience prize and one for the best performance of a new work. [8] He additionally won US$100,000 and career management for three years.[9]

Lim has performed with orchestras such as with the Korea Symphony, Suwon Philharmonic, Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and others.[10]

On May 10, 2023, Lim made his debut appearance with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of guest conductor James Gaffigan, at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, in New York. His performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto was again a tremendous success, earning a thundering and cheering standing ovation. The concert was repeated the following evening, May 11, and the subsequent afternoon. Lim chose the more substantial “ossia” (alternate) cadenza, and gave one of the greatest performances of this piece ever, according to the published testimonial comments of many attending audience members. At the first concert, Lim offered as encores Liszt’s Sonetto del Petrarca #104, and Liadov’s Prélude, Op.57 no.1. At the second concert, he played Anton Rubinstein’s “Melody in F” Op.3 no.1, and Chopin’s Nocturne #2 in E-flat, a personal favorite of Lim’s. At the third concert, he offered another Liadov Prélude, Op.11, no.1, followed by two of the pieces played on the prior days.

During the summer of 2023, Lim is scheduled to perform at festivals in Europe and the U.S. For example, he will play Mozart’s Piano Concerto #20 in Lucerne on July 2. In the U.S., he will perform at the Hollywood Bowl and the Gerald Ford theater in Vail, Colorado (with the New York Philharmonic as part of “Bravo! Vail”). At the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony under the baton of Marin Alsop, he will play Rachmaninoff’s Concerto #3 and Beethoven’s Concerto #3.

In the 2023-24 season, Lim is scheduled to perform piano concertos by Schumann, Prokofiev (#2), and Rachmaninoff (#2). He is also scheduled to make his highly anticipated solo recital debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall on February 21, 2024, playing the complete Études of Chopin (Op. Posthumous, Op.10, and Op.25).

Lim currently studies at the Korea National University of Arts under Minsoo Sohn. In the fall of 2023, Lim is expected to transfer to Boston’s New England Conservatory along with Professor Sohn, who has been offered a faculty position there.[10][11][12]