Since becoming the youngest person ever to win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at age 18 in 2022, Yunchan Lim has made a meteoric ascent to international stardom. Marin Alsop expressed, “Yunchan is that rare artist who brings profound musicality and prodigious technique organically together.”
In the years following his Cliburn win, Mr. Lim made successful orchestral debuts with the New York, Los Angeles, and Munich philharmonics; Chicago, BBC, Boston, and Tokyo symphony orchestras; Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra; and Luzerner Sinfonieorchester. Recital appearances included performances at Carnegie Hall, Verbier Festival, Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, among other major stages.
Mr. Lim’s 2024–2025 season highlights include orchestral debuts with the National Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and WDR Symphony Orchestra, as well as return performances with the New York Philharmonic, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, and Orchestre de Paris. This season also sees his recital debut at the Kennedy Center and a return to Carnegie Hall.
An exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, Mr. Lim’s acclaimed debut studio album—Chopin’s Études, Op. 10 and Op. 25—has gone triple platinum in South Korea and topped the classical charts around the world. His previous releases include Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes (Steinway & Sons); Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor” (Universal Music Group); and a performance on the KBS album 2020 Young Musicians of Korea.
Born in Siheung, Korea, Mr. Lim began piano lessons at age seven. At age 13, he was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, where he met his teacher and mentor, Minsoo Sohn. In 2019, at age 15, he became the youngest person to win Korea’s IsangYun Competition. Mr. Lim currently studies at the New England Conservatory with Minsoo Sohn.
