▲ This photo, provided by the Cliburn Foundation, shows pianist Lim Yun-chan at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) 

 

▲ This photo, provided by the Cliburn Foundation and WFIMC, shows Lim Yun-chan as the youngest-ever winner of the Cliburn Competition. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) 

 

 

SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean piano prodigy Lim Yun-chan’s video in the final round of the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where he played Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3 in D Minor, op.30, has hit the 10 million mark on YouTube.

The video of Lim, uploaded on the official YouTube channel of the Cliburn Foundation on June 20 last year, surpassed 11,400 views as of 5:30 a.m. Thursday (KST).

The Cliburn Foundation announced on its official Twitter account that Lim’s video of his historic and masterly 2022 Cliburn Competition exceeded 10 million YouTube views, adding that “It is the perfect day to re-watch his performance” along with a link to the video.

Lim, 18, played Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor at Fort Worth Base Performance Hall in Texas on June 17, 2022. The piece has the reputation of being one of the most technically challenging pieces ever written for piano as it requires 40 minutes of finger-twisting madness. The piano prodigy marked his groundbreaking debut at the Cliburn Competition with his sensational performance that is near perfect at the final ground.

The video vividly witnesses Lim’s intense performance and the following standing ovation from the audience who had their hearts moved by his music. It also captured the moment when conductor Marine Alsop, one of the most prominent U.S. female conductors, wiped away her tears as if she was also overcome with emotions.

Lim’s epic performance of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No.3 not only crowned him to be the youngest-ever player to win the prestigious Cliburn Competition but also had him record the highest views among those of several world-class pianists playing the same piece.

The former most-watched performance video of this masterpiece was one by the Ukrainian master Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989) at New York Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in 1978, which was later uploaded in 2009.

After recording such unprecedentedly high views, the Cliburn also dropped a remastered version of Lim’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3 last September with improved image and sound qualities.

The young pianist will be performing the same legendary piece during his upcoming U.S. tour. The three-day-long concert will be held in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra led by conductor James Gaffigan from May 10 to 12 at the David Geffen Hall in New York.

His next stop will be the Bravo Vail Music Festival, where the pianist will perform the same piece at the Gerald Ford Outdoor Theater in Vale, Colorado, on July 26 also with the New Philharmonic Orchestra, this time led by conductor Marine Alsop who served as the jury and conductor of the Cliburn Competition.

In August, Lim’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s piece will be put on stage at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with conductor Sung Shi-yeon on the lead of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Lim’s domestic performance of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No.3 is yet to be decided.

Yet the Korean piano prodigy, who has already been garnering worldwide attention, is scheduled to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto with the Swiss Lucerne Symphony Orchestra at Lotte Concert Hall and Seoul Arts Center on June 28 and July 2, respectively.

The Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, led by conductor Chung Myung-hoon, will be joining hands with Lim to hold three performances in Daejeon and Seoul. Lim is expected to play a piece of Beethoven.


(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

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