All 27 Chopin Etudes Performed... NYT Says "Dazzling"
Amid Applause, Four Encores Played
Pianist Lim Yunchan made his debut on the stage of New York's Carnegie Hall, one of the dream venues for performers, on the 21st of last month (local time).
Lim Yunchan presented a rare performance playing all 27 ?tudes by Fr?d?ric Chopin (1810?1849). The New York Times (NYT) praised the performance in a review article, describing it as a dazzling stage where he played all 27 extremely difficult Chopin ?tudes confidently and flexibly. The NYT particularly noted the applause during the encore and highlighted the fact that he played ?tude Op. 25-1 "Aeolian Harp" twice.
Chopin began composing the ?tudes at the age of 19 in 1829 and composed 27 ?tudes over about ten years. He published the first 12 ?tudes as Opus 10 in 1833. In 1837, he published another set of 12 ?tudes as Opus 25. Then, in 1839, he composed three separate smaller ?tudes.
Lim Yunchan started by performing the three ?tudes Chopin composed last. The NYT reported that after presenting the three ?tudes composed in 1839 as if they were preludes, he performed the 12 ?tudes of Op. 10. After the intermission, Lim performed the remaining 12 ?tudes of Op. 25.
All the encore pieces were also works by Chopin. While it is common to perform one or two encore pieces, Lim Yunchan performed as many as four encores that day.
For the first encore, Lim Yunchan played Chopin's Nocturne No. 20. He then performed "Casta Diva," the most famous aria from the Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini's (1801?1835) opera Norma, arranged by Chopin as a piano piece. Following that, he played Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9-2.
Performing three encore pieces is rare, yet the applause continued. The audience kept requesting more performances. The NYT reported that after already playing three convincing encore pieces, the applause persisted, and Lim Yunchan returned to the piano for a rare literal encore performance. The French word "encore" means "again, one more time," and Lim played Chopin's ?tude Op. 25-1 "Aeolian Harp" again, which he had performed during the main concert. The NYT explained that he played the piece again just 40 minutes after the initial performance, delivering a much more unadorned and natural rendition.
Lee Saem, CEO of Mok Production, which manages Lim Yunchan domestically, said, "Lim Yunchan has many encore repertoire pieces, but I understand he cherishes 'Aeolian Harp' very much, so it seems he chose it for that reason."
"Aeolian Harp" is also a piece Lim Yunchan performed at the Apple Music Classical launch event held at the Apple Store in Myeongdong, Seoul, on January 29. At that time, he performed three Chopin ?tudes, starting with "Aeolian Harp."
Among the encore pieces performed at the Carnegie Hall debut, "Casta Diva" was also an encore piece played at the official inauguration concert of Yap van Zweden as music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra on January 25. At that time, Lim Yunchan performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and played "Casta Diva" as an encore.
Lim Yunchan will release his first studio album, "Chopin: ?tudes," recorded under Decca, a classical label under Universal Music, on April 19. Through Universal Music, he expressed his affection for Chopin's ?tudes, saying, "Within Chopin's ?tudes, there are various emotions such as the groaning of the earth, the regrets of the elderly, love letters, longing and melancholy, and freedom. Even during times when I was not practicing the ?tudes, the songs of the ?tudes kept deepening within my heart."
Meanwhile, Lim Yunchan will hold another solo recital at Carnegie Hall next year. On April 25, he will perform Austrian composer Anton Webern's (1883?1945) Piano Variations and Bach's Goldberg Variations. Prior to that, on March 6 next year, he will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra.
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