Listening to Yunchan Lim

Undoubtedly the most hyped new kid on the pianistic bloc, on balance quite deservedly so. There are several videos on YouTube including the hugely popular Rach PC3 at the 2022 Cliburn. A few comments on his cd discography:
2020 rel November Seoul (KBS Studio 16) [Young Musicians of Korea Vol.3] BEETHOVEN --- Sonata No.14 in c sharp, Op.27 No.1 "Mondschein" [KBS AMC 2-194 tracks 1-3] / LISZT --- Anneés de Pèlerinage: II Année (Italie), S161 [KBS AMC 2-194 tracks 4-10]
Not shy about exploring innovative ways to use the sustain pedal way more extensively than most of his peers, something that makes perfect sense in the Mondschein. The whole Italie witnesses a strong affinity with mid-century Liszt, as will be apparent at the Cliburn.
2022 June 10 Forth Worth, Texas (Bass Performance Hall) [Semifinal Round of the XVI Van Cliburn International Piano Competition] LISZT --- Études d'Exécution Transcendante, S139 [Stainway & Sons STNS 30217]
And here it is. Probably his strongest performance at the Cliburn, and one of the best complete Trascendental Etudes this side of Lazar Berman. Incidentally there are tons of good stuff at the Cliburn rounds, not issued officially: worth listening to are the Scriabin PS2 Op.19, the Bach Recercare a 3, the Beethoven Eroica Variations. A good Mozart PC22 K482, less convincing a rather mannered PS9 K311.
2022 Oct 7-11 Tongyeong (Concert Hall) BEETHOVEN --- Piano Concerto No.5 in E flat, Op.73 "Emperor" (Gwangju Symphony Orchestra, Hong) [DG 40297 tracks 1-3] / SCRIABIN --- 3 Morceaux, Op.45: No.1 `Feuillet d'Album' [DG 40297 track 8] / 2 Poèmes, Op.69: No.1 `Allegretto' [DG 40297 track 7] / MOMPOU --- Scènes d'Enfants: No.5 `Jeunes Filles au Jardin' [DG 40297 track 6]
A rather cautious reading of the first two movements of the Emperor, gets somewhat more energetic only in the III mvt but still no surprises and limited sparkle. The accompaniment does not help, with the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra led by Seokwon Hong nothing more than functional. The encores are more promising: atmospheric Mompou, and once again interesting use of the pedal with impressionistic resonances and timbral nuances in Scriabin.
2023 Dec 17-20 London (Henry Wood Hall) CHOPIN --- 12 Études, Op.10 [Decca 487 0122 tracks 1-12] / 12 Études, Op.25 [Decca 487 0122 tracks 13-24]
The big-label official debut. As witnessed by the above-mentioned Liszt recitals, collections of relatively short pieces work quite well with Lim at this stage of his career, probably better than sonata-form structures. About Chopin, his admitted "chief influences" are Friedman, Cortot, Egorov and Horowitz for the Op.25 No.7. Quite revealing: no particular interest in the milestone readings by Ashkenazy (1959-60), Cziffra, Pollini, Sokolov 1985 (Op.25), Richter (bits here and there). Thanks goodness, no interest in Perahia 2001. Instead, Cortot as a benchmark makes perfect interpretive sense, as Lim seems to be approaching the Etudes as a story-teller discovering the One Thousand and One Nights. In his view, the Op.10 "starts with the Big Bang and returns to nothingness", and each etude is less concerned with displays of pianistic technique than with explorations of inward feelings and emotions, including an Op.10 No.6 that "conveys the sentiment of someone drinking alcohol and singing to forget the pain of reality". Oh well. Consistently, the Op.25 No.7 - the least athletic one - is in Lim's words "the heart of all Etudes", and the special reference to Horowitz's interpretation says it all. Not everyone will be fully sold to his approach, but Lim's reading of the Etudes is a strong recommendation, worth coming back to.