Here's all you need to know about Yunchan Lim, the fast-rising pianist who, after a star turn at the 2024 BBC Proms, is returning to the 2025 Proms.
Who is Yunchan Lim?
Yunchan Lim is a South Korean pianist who shot to fame in 2022, when he became the youngest person ever to win the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of just 18.
How old is Yunchan Lim?
Yunchan Lim was born on March 20, 2004, in Siheung, South Korea.
When did he start learning the piano?
He began piano lessons at the age of 7, and entered the Music Academy of the Seoul Arts Center the following year. He auditioned for and was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts at age 13, where he met his teacher and mentor, Minsoo Sohn. Yunchan made his global and competition debut a year later, in 2018, winning second prize and the Chopin Special Award in his first-ever competition, the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists.
What is Yunchan Lim performing at the 2025 Proms?
Yunchan Lim is the soloist on Friday 1 August, where he will perform Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 4, with accompaniment from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and their conductor Kazuki Yamada. Those forces will also give us John Adams' 13-minute orchestral showpiece The Chairman Dances and the Sinfonia by the Italian avant-garde composer Luciano Berio.
Has he released any albums?
Yes. He's released an acclaimed album of Chopin's Etudes on Decca, with rather nice 1970s-themed cover art. We gave it a glowing review. More than that, Yunchan Lim's Chopin album walked away with the Instrumental, Newcomer and Recording of the Year awards at the 2025 BBC Music Magazine Awards. Have a listen to Yunchan's extraordinary way with Chopin, below.
Elsewhere, his semi-final performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Études from the Van Cliburn competition was released in July 2023, debuting at number 5 on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Albums chart. Yunchan has also recorded Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto, released in 2022 on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
What did he play at his award-winning Van Cliburn performance?
At the 16th Van Cliburn competition in 2022 in Forth Worth, Texas, Yunchan Lim took first prize with his performances of the third piano concertos by Beethoven and Rachmaninov. He was accompanied by the Forth Worth Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, who also served as Jury Chair that year. The jury also featured pianists Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Alessio Bax, and Stephen Hough among others.
Yunchan Lim's performance of the Rachmaninov Third became something of a YouTube phenomenon, amassing more than 14 million views to date and becoming the most-watched video performance of the work. Have a watch below - you can see that conductor Alsop is reduced to tears at the end by Yunchan's performance.
What have people said about Yunchan Lim?
Yunchan Lim is widely praised as a prodigious and original talent, with many reviewers and listeners highlighting his dazzling technique, unique musical interpretations, and profound expressiveness. Critics have lauded his ability to blend youthful energy with mature musical insight, making him a distinctive voice in contemporary classical performance. Some have even described his performances as "transcendental" and "touching the soul," suggesting a level of artistry that transcends typical expectations.
British pianist Stephen Hough was on the 2018 Cliburn competition jury with Alsop, and has noted: 'People complain about piano competition winners all sounding the same. This was spectacularly not true about Yunchan Lim. He caught in a remarkable way the many facets of this hugely challenging piece: the need for control but also to feel that things are on the edge; huge power yet lyrical tenderness too.'
