Tom Huizenga | November 13, 2024
Remember what you were doing at the tender age of 18? Probably not taking home a gold medal from a major piano competition. Two years ago, when the South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim was only 18, he won the storied Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Ever since, we’ve been asking him to play at our Tiny Desk. Lim was the youngest ever to win the Cliburn, and one of his performances there has been viewed more than 16 million times on Youtube.

Simply put, Lim became an overnight sensation. And it’s easy to see why in these deeply considered performances. Even though he was under the weather -- explaining to our audience why his voice was weak -- you could never tell by his powerful command of every note, making our trusty upright sound like a 9-foot grand piano.

Listen for the deliciously strummed chords in Liszt’s Petrarca Sonetto, where, near the end, he rings a bell of two notes high on the keyboard and leaves them suspended in midair. Lim is celebrated for his finger twisting virtuosity, but it’s this kind of poetic dynamic control that astonishes.

Tchaikovsky is a personal favorite. Lim summons thunder in a stormy passage of the snack-sized Moment lyrique, and follows with “October” (from the cycle The Seasons) where he conjures shades of lambent autumn light, taking great care to dab and mix colors like a painter.

It’s easy to fall under the spell of Yunchan Lim’s playing. And we’re lucky, because at just age 20 Lim will be enchanting listeners for a long time.

SET LIST
Franz Liszt: Sonetto del Petrarca No. 104
Piotr Tchaikovsky: Moment lyrique
Piotr Tchaikovsky: “October” (from The Seasons)

MUSICIANS
Yunchan Lim: piano

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Tom Huizenga
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Wendy Li
Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
Production Assistant: Elle Mannion
Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
Tiny Desk Team: Joshua Bryant, Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

Hear more from Yunchan Lim:
https://yunchanlim.lnk.to/YunchanLim

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