Culture | Classical music

The wonder of Lim Yun-chan’s performance of “Rach 3”

The 18-year-old pianist’s version of a famously difficult piece has wowed music fans

June 17, 2022. Yunchan Lim from South Korea performs the final concert with Jury Chairman and Conductor Marin Alsop and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for the Finals of the Sixteenth Cliburn International Piano Competition in Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ralph Lauer)

Jul 21st 2022

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.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “The power of 3”