Yunchan Lim. Extraordinary Concert

Unlike the ‘Pastoral’ Symphony (No. 6), which follows an explicit programme, and the Ninth with its choral finale, Beethoven left no clues about any hidden meaning behind his Symphony No. 7. Even so, its powerful, expressive character seems to suggest something more, and listeners over the years have offered many interpretations. Some have heard it as an apotheosis of dance (as Wagner called it), others as a tribute to the power of nature, a reflection of literary archetypes, or – especially in its time – a symbol of Napoleonic heroism. The first performance took place on 8 December 1813 at a charity concert in aid of Austrian soldiers wounded at Hanau. The programme also featured Wellington’s Victory, the Egmont overture, a set of military marches by various composers, and a demonstration of the Mechanical Trumpeter, an automaton created by Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, the inventor of the metronome.

Beethoven completed his Seventh Symphony in the summer of 1812 while staying in Teplice, in today’s Czech Republic. Although the work reveals nothing of the composer’s private inspiration, it continues to captivate listeners with its emotional intensity; the unrestrained joy and energy of the outer movements and the deeply moving melancholy of the Allegretto. It was this movement, in fact, that aroused the greatest enthusiasm at the premiere and helped to establish the symphony’s popularity. That success, however, did not come immediately. The Viennese audience received the work warmly, but outside Austria the reactions were cooler, and some German critics even wrote about it with open sarcasm. Their bewilderment is easy to understand: like many of Beethoven’s later works, the Seventh Symphony was far ahead of its time. Listeners were astonished by its bold rhythmic and harmonic ideas and by the ecstatic vitality of its so-called ‘Bacchic’ finale. Only composers and audiences of the later Romantic era would fully recognise the significance of a work that proved to be one of the most groundbreaking in the history of the symphony.

The United States, still searching for its own cultural identity and often burdened by a sense of inferiority towards Europe’s artistic achievements, recognised in Gershwin – after the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue (1924) – a truly American composer, one who could adapt and elevate various strands of native music through sophisticated stylisation. His fame soon spread across the Atlantic. Gershwin was warmly received in Paris, where he travelled chiefly with the intention of studying with his musical idol, Maurice Ravel. Ravel, however, is said to have replied with the now-famous remark: ‘Why would you want to become a second-rate Ravel when you’re already a first-rate Gershwin?’ He admired the American’s talent and suggested instead that he might study with Nadia Boulanger. Yet she, too, shared Ravel’s view, seeing in Gershwin an already fully formed artist. Gershwin ultimately decided against formal studies, but remained in Paris for a time, absorbing the city’s atmosphere. The result was his symphonic poem An American in Paris (1928), which soon rivalled Rhapsody in Blue in popularity. The work again reflects his fascination with the energy of the modern metropolis; Gershwin even incorporated genuine Parisian taxi horns, which he personally bought and brought back to the United States. The blues-inflected themes, surrounded by sounds evoking the unmistakably Parisian esprit of the French group Les Six, express the title character’s nostalgia for home.
The piece was commissioned by conductor Walter Damrosch, who also led its first performance on 13 December 1928 with the New York Philharmonic. In 1951, the Oscar-winning film musical An American in Paris, directed by Vincente Minnelli, drew on the symphonic poem’s loosely programmatic storyline and incorporated both its themes and songs by George and Ira Gershwin.

‘My intention was to write a genuine concerto, a brilliant work that would clearly showcase the soloist’s virtuosity, without striving for excessive seriousness. As models I took two composers who, in my view, created the finest examples of the genre: Mozart and Saint-Saëns. That is why I originally planned to call the piece a divertissement.’ With these words Ravel described his late masterpiece, the Piano Concerto in G major, written over several years and completed in 1931. The master of orchestral colour reveals here a lighter, though still refined, side of his artistry. The music reflects the influence of jazz (a reminder of his friendship with Gershwin and his travels to the United States) as well as subtle Basque and Spanish inflections. The opening movement begins with the crack of a whip, followed by a succession of contrasting thematic ideas, full of energy and rhythmic surprises, and three unconventional ‘cadenzas’ for harp, wind instruments and piano. The central Adagio assai is a marvel of simplicity: an extended, song-like piano line of almost Mozartian clarity creates a moment of intimate stillness, in which Ravel attains maximum expressive power with seemingly minimal means. The finale – concise, brilliant and once again touched by jazz – sparkles with orchestral invention and, true to concerto tradition, gives the soloist ample opportunity to shine.

The work is dedicated to Marguerite Long, who gave the first performance on 14 January 1932 under the composer’s direction.

Piotr Maculewicz

Yunchan Lim

“A one-in-a-million talent” – Dallas Morning News.

“I made up my mind that I will live my life only for the sake of music, and I decided that I will give up everything for music… I want my music to become deeper, and if that desire reaches the audience, I’m satisfied” – Yunchan Lim.

Since becoming the youngest person to ever win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 18 in 2022, Yunchan Lim’s ascent to international stardom has been meteoric. His performances showcase a “magical ability” and a “natural, instinctive quality” (La Scena) that astounds listeners around the world. Marin Alsop, who conducted the 2022 Cliburn Final said, “Yunchan is that rare artist who brings profound musicality and prodigious technique organically together.”

His audacious performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes “created a buzz throughout the international piano community” (Gramophone), and his appearance with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 delivered the defining moment of competition, as one critic noted: “The applause that followed was endless: a star had emerged before our eyes” (Seen and Heard International). The video of Yunchan’s Rachmaninov performance trended globally on YouTube in the days after and has now become the most-watched version of that piece on the platform, amassing well over 15 million views. The New York Times later listed it as one of the Top 10 Classical Music Performances of 2022.

In the years following his Cliburn win, Yunchan made successful orchestral debuts with the New York, Los Angeles, Munich, and Seoul Philharmonic orchestras, as well as Chicago, Lucerne, BBC, Boston, and Tokyo Symphony orchestras among others. Recital appearances include performances at Carnegie Hall, Verbier Festival, the Wigmore Hall, Het Concertgebouw, and Suntory Hall, among other major stages.

Lim’s 2024/25 season highlights include orchestral debuts with Washington National Symphony, LondonSymphony, Royal Philharmonic, Vienna Radio Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, and WDR Symphony Orchestras, as well as returning to New York Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra de Paris. This season will also see his recital debut at the Kennedy Center, and a return to Carnegie Hall.

As an exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, Yunchan Lim’s acclaimed debut studio album, Chopin Études Opp.10 & 25 has gone double platinum in South Korea and topped the classical charts around the world. The album won the 2024 Gramophone Award for Piano, and he was names Young Artist of the Year. His previous releases include his award-winning Cliburn performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Études (Steinway & Sons), which was also nominated in the Piano category at the 2024 Gramophone Awards; Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” (Universal Music Group); and his appearance on KBS’s 2020 Young Musicians of Korea album. Since January 2024, Yunchan has been an Apple Music Classical Global Ambassador.

Born in Siheung, Korea, Yunchan Lim began piano lessons at age 7. He entered the Music Academy of the Seoul Arts Center the next year, and quickly became immersed in his musical studies. He auditioned for and was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts at age 13, where he met his teacher and mentor, Minsoo Sohn. A year later, in 2018, he captured international attention when he won both Second Prize and the Chopin Special Award in his first competition: the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists. That same year, he won both the Third and Audience prizes at the Cooper International Competition, which also provided him the opportunity to perform with The Cleveland Orchestra. In 2019, aged only 15, he became the youngest person to win Korea’s IsangYun International Competition, where he also took home two special prizes.

Following two years at the Korea National University of Arts, Yunchan is currently studying at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with his teacher Minsoo Sohn.

Mr. Lim appears by arrangement with IMG Artists. Mr. Lim records exclusively for Decca Classics.

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