The New York Times: Review: Yunchan Lim, Teenage Piano Star, Arrives in New York
The 19-year-old musician made his New York Philharmonic debut with a powerful yet poetic performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto.
“He plays like a dream,” we say about musicians we like, meaning simply that they’re very good.
But when I say that Yunchan Lim, the 19-year-old pianist who made a galvanizing debut with the New York Philharmonic at David Geffen Hall on Wednesday, played like a dream, I mean something more literal.
I mean that there was, in his performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, the juxtaposition of precise clarity and expansive reverie; the vivid scenes and bursts of wit; the sense of contrasting yet organically developing moods; the endless and persuasive bendings of time — the qualities that tend to characterize nighttime wanderings of the mind.
The Economist: The wonder of Lim Yun-chan’s performance of “Rach 3”
Still standing at her podium, the distinguished conductor Marin Alsop wiped away a tear. She says she cannot remember the last time she cried onstage, but she was far from alone in feeling moved by the artistry of Lim Yun-chan. Ms Alsop had just conducted the 18-year-old South Korean pianist in Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 3” in Fort Worth, Texas—a performance that last month helped make him the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. A video of his mesmerising interpretation of “Rach 3”, as the piece is known by pianophiles, has been viewed more than 5m times on YouTube.
Associated Press: Pianist, 18, from South Korea wins Van Cliburn competition
An 18-year-old from South Korea has won the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, one of the top showcases for the world’s best pianists.
The competition held in Fort Worth, Texas, ended Saturday night with Yunchan Lim becoming the competition’s youngest winner of the gold medal. His winnings include a cash award of $100,000 and three years of career management.
The New York Times: At Cliburn Competition, Pianists From South Korea, Russia and Ukraine Triumph
The war in Ukraine loomed over the prestigious contest in Texas, named for the pianist Van Cliburn, who won a victory in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.
For 17 days, the young artists competed in what some have called the Olympics of piano-playing: the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas, one of classical music’s most prestigious contests.
On Saturday, the results were in: Pianists from South Korea, Russia and Ukraine prevailed in this year’s contest.
The New York Times: Russian and Ukrainian Pianists Meet in Texas at Cliburn Competition
FORT WORTH, Texas — On a sultry recent morning, 30 young pianists from around the world gathered in an auditorium at Texas Christian University here for the start of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, one of the most prestigious contests in classical music.
The mood was celebratory. But politics also loomed. The Cliburn, defying pressure to ban Russian competitors after the invasion of Ukraine, had invited six Russians to take part, as well as two pianists from Belarus, which has supported the Russian invasion. A Ukrainian also made the cut.
International Piano: Yekwon Sunwoo at Portland Piano International
Ever since Yekwon Sunwoo won the Van Cliburn Competition last June, he has been concertizing extensively. Sunwoo showed no signs of jetlag in his performance at Lincoln Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon.
BBC Music Magazine: Yekwon Sunwoo's Cliburn Gold 2017
"Superbly assured pianism from the recent winner of the Van Cliburn competition, sensitive in Haydn and full-blown in Ravel’s La Valse." - Rebecca Franks, BBC Music Magazine, Cliburn Gold 2017
Miroirs CA: Interview with Yekwon Sunwoo
Soon after 28-year-old Yekwon Sunwoo won the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Decca Gold released a recording of his performances at the competition called Cliburn Gold, which became number one on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Album charts.
Yekwon Sunwoo talks about his career with Editor Leonne Lewis.
Fort Worth Business Press: Beyond the keyboard - Cliburn career management a key for winners
There's a lot more to being a Cliburn winner than the prestige that goes with the title. As in other professions, much goes on behind the scenes to ensure a long and successful career as a pianist. Beyond the prestige, cash prizes and hours of rehearsal, the medalists of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition get the opportunity to launch careers as concert pianists through concert bookings, recordings and significant media exposure via the career management prize.