Yunchan Lim, Live from the Cliburn: Liszt - Transcendental Etudes

by Yunchan Lim

Overview

The teenage pianist Yunchan Lim has gotten reams (or gigabytes) of good press, yet listeners may have any number of reasons for being skeptical. Lim's K-pop looks are not everyone's cup of tea, and on his debut album, while showing plenty of promise, he seemed oddly reluctant to take the spotlight. Any doubts, however, will be put to rest by Lim's performances, recorded here, in his winning career in the 2022 Van Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. They are astonishing. Competition performances often have a well-practiced, safe quality, but not this one; Lim goes out onto the edge and stays there. Sample at will, and note that he tends to give quieter passages an almost harsh quality; his method is to raise the tension, which he knows he can dissipate in brilliant, tumultuous passagework. What's more, he accomplishes these utterly distinctive performances in Liszt's Transcendental Etudes, often-recorded works that are commonplace in the competition repertory. The title of this collection is slightly mistranslated from its French original, Etudes d'execution transcendante ("Etudes of Transcendental Execution"). The original points up the degree to which, for all the storm and thunder, these are true etudes, posing specific technical problems for the player, and Lim sets the rigorous and the fantastic elements against each other brilliantly. One need only add that Steinway's live sound is superlative. Everything one has heard is true, and this album made classical best-seller charts in the summer of 2022. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	07/07/2023
Label:	Steinway & Sons
UPC:	0034062302178
Rank:	15796

Tracks

1. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~I. Preludio
2. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~II. Molto vivace
3. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~III. Paysage
4. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~IV. Mazeppa
5. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~V. Feux follets
6. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~VI. Vision
7. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~VII. Eroica
8. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~VIII. Wilde Jagd
9. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~IX. Ricordanza
10. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~X. Allegro agitato molto
11. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~XI. Harmonies du Soir
12. Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139~XII. Chasse-neige

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Yunchan Lim   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Tom Lazarus   Mastering,Engineer
Franz Liszt   Composer
Anilda Carrasquillo   Cover Design
Lisa-Marie Mazzucco   Photography
Jon Feidner   Executive Producer
Vivian Chiu   Executive Producer
Jackie Fugere   Art Direction
Jacques Marquis   Producer
Renee Oakford   Production Assistant
Richard Rodriguez   Cover Photo
Eric Feidner   Executive Producer