Recording of the Week,
Chopin Études from Yunchan Lim
Not for nothing is Lim being hailed as a serious talent. Not everyone walks home with first prize at the Van Cliburn International Competition aged 18. Not everyone would dare to make their recorded début with Chopin’s Études, and to cite some of history’s finest pianists as direct inspirations when doing so almost seems like tempting fate. Rather than seeking to avoid being compared to those past greats, it’s as if Lim is daring us to do so, and already staking out a place among their number.
Like the young violinist Daniel Lozakovich (who in an interview with us a few years ago mused that older, less ‘authentic’ Beethoven recordings might actually approach more closely what the composer was imagining in his head), Lim names some decidedly old-school influences on his approach to Chopin’s Études. Hailing Friedman’s ‘creativity and freedom’, Cortot’s ‘unique timing’ and ‘bel canto style’, and Egorov’s ‘poetic imagination and… perfect understanding of the structure’, he’s clearly done his homework on how to make these Études really live, to move beyond their rôle as finger-twisting technical exercises.
His Op. 10 No. 1 augurs well; a bright, glittering opening at an ambitious pace, but with sensitivity and rubato in the middle section and a finely-controlled yet inexorable crescendo back up for the conclusion. He even seems to push the arpeggiated filigree into the background at times, with his brisk tempo allowing him to present the ponderous bassline as a cantus firmus melody in its own right.
As the album continues, it becomes apparent that the gaps between some of the Études are really quite short. The bumblebee-like No. 2 has barely had time to land and give its wings a break (Lim in fact likens it to ‘the world’s tiniest moth’) before No. 3 begins. On the other hand, the sudden outburst of No. 4 is very effective precisely because the final notes of No. 3 aren’t given too much time to linger.
For those who, like readers of car magazines, are mostly interested in Lim’s technical specifications - acceleration, power, control and the like - I’ll just pause to call out the sparkling No. 5 in G flat, No. 7 in C and No. 12 in C minor (the ever-popular ‘Revolutionary’) as especially impressive. Here Lim’s agility is most clearly on display, and his tempi are fiendish indeed. The ‘Revolutionary’ in particular is felt more in two than in four, absolutely leaping off the page. Yet even here, there’s wonderful contrast - the first two phrases of the right-hand melody are a clear-cut chiaroscuro between forte and piano that I’ve rarely heard before.
On to the second set - Lim considers the Op. 25 Études more personal, more full of both maturity and loneliness. He mentions the transition from No. 6 to No. 7 as being one of his favourite moments - so perhaps those relatively short pauses for breath between certain Études are indeed no accident. The final three Études he describes as ‘heading towards the end of the world’, and there’s certainly something apocalyptic about his performance of the closing No. 12 - the final ascending A minor scale of No. 11, ending in mid-air, leaves the listener almost holding their breath for a few seconds before the opening waves of C minor crash in with full force and the diptych closes in C major where it began.
There’s always room for growth and maturity, and I’m sure that in ten or twenty years’ time we’ll be looking back on this recording and remarking on how much more Lim’s pianism has evolved and deepened. Still, flashy as his speeds can be, he’s certainly not short of substance underpinning the style here; his heart and mind are clearly just as much at work as his fingers. This is a début that many more established artists would - and I suspect probably do - envy.
I spoke to Yunchan Lim a little while ago about his performances on this album - compared to some artists, he definitely seems to be inclined to play his cards close to his chest about some things!
The cover design for this album is strongly evocative of Decca covers of decades gone by, perhaps the ‘60s or ‘70s, and I gather that this was your idea. What is it about that era that you’re interested in recapturing?
I've been collecting a lot of albums since I was a kid, and I had a lot of doubts. Some albums were just putting a profile picture on the cover that looked good. Cover pictures are in the realm of art, but I thought musicians already had to express a lot of things in the cover as well. In this album I wanted to capture the vibe of an artist who is struggling and lonely, but deep in his heart, there's someone he loves so much that he can hope for anything. I wanted to contrast myself in public with my most private self. I'm not used to expressing my music on covers yet, but I'm going to get better and better
What led you to choose Chopin’s Études for your solo recording debut?
I always thought it was a mountain that I had to climb, and I never wanted to avoid it, and I really wanted to cross it this time.
You’ve cited pianists such as Friedman, Cortot and Horowitz as influences on how you approach the Études - what is it about these pianists that you find so particularly powerful?
People who make brilliant sounds of warmth. People who play with faith without hesitation. It's more important to play with faith than conviction. Conviction can't change, but faith can always change and develop.
You mention some very visual imagery that you associate with each of the études - is this unique to these pieces, or do you have scenes like this in mind for every piece you perform?
That image changes every time. I now enjoy playing on stage by improvising the images. Sometimes I sing with my bursting heart, sometimes I play it as if I were sleeping under a blanket.
Where do you think your next recordings might take you?
It's a secret, but I must feel like I’m crossing a huge mountain!
Image credit for photo of Yunchan Lim: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco.
Yunchan Lim (piano)
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
David Smith - Head of Digital
