A young pianist’s daring “Goldbergs” with Lim at Carnegie
‘’Mr. Lim currently studies at the New England Conservatory with Minsoo Sohn.”
Rub your eyes and read it again. Yunchan Lim, the talk of the piano world, gold medalist of the 2022 Van Cliburn Competition at age 18, peripatetic soloist on multiple continents, whose earnest face stares out from dozens of concert hall walls and season brochures, is still learning to play the piano.
So we should give the young man a break. Forget about Carnegie Hall packed to the rafters Friday night. Forget about the five-minute standing ovation that greeted his performance of Bach’s “Goldberg” Variations. It’s all a work in progress. He’ll no doubt be back in the woodshed with Mr. Sohn next week—if he’s not busy with the Berlin Philharmonic.
Actually, top professional musicians seek advice and tuneups from trusted listeners all the time. And more and more of them proudly cite their pedagogical history in their biographies. It’s just rare to see it stated so frankly, in the present tense.
It’s the mission of music competitions to identify the best talent and launch stellar careers, and yet it’s surprising how rarely that actually happens. (Of the 17 previous Cliburn gold medalists, only Radu Lupu has enjoyed anything like the fame Lim has now.) It speaks well for Lim that, having wowed first the judges and then the public with his musical insight in Rachmaninoff and Beethoven concertos, he sought out a different challenge in Bach’s labyrinthine set of 30 variations.
Since Bach left us only the notes, with few indications as to tempo or phrasing, there are potentially as many interpretations of the Goldbergs as there are pianists and harpsichordists—more than that actually, as performers return to the work again and again with new ideas about it.
Friday’s Bach with Yunchan Lim revealed an emerging artist with a curiosity about how things work and an uncanny ability to play like the wind—in this case, not just a metaphor for “fast,” but the kind of weightless, seemingly noteless, natural force that makes leaves swirl on pavement.
Over and over, Lim chose rapid tempos and a leggiero touch that made the music spin out like the Chopin etudes on his award-winning debut album. Here as there, the result was anything but monotonous, as the music’s contours and textures suggested different colors and emphases—especially in the repeats. Lim took every one of those (except in the return of the Aria theme at the end), and still brought the performance in at a brisk 80 minutes or so.
Some of what was in store was already evident in the opening statement of the Aria, a melody serene in its simplicity, yet the source of all the vast complications to follow. Lim’s pearly tone, effortlessly projected into the hall even in a soft dynamic, suggested a Chopin-like sensibility was at work. So did the bringing out of inner voices, which sounded a little fussy this early in the proceedings. But the steady andante tempo was a sign that momentum would be a feature of this performance.
The first few variations emphasized vigorous, moderate tempos and clear voice leading, especially when untangling the tail-chasing “canon at the unison” of Variation 3. But the Lim speed machine really took off in the shapely whirls of Variation 5, the glissando-like slides of Variations 7 and 8, and the smooth, curvy scales of Variations 11 and 12.
Lim emphasized the strong contrasts that closed the work’s first half: Variation 13 a florid sarabande, introspective, seeking beauty in the corners; 14 all exuberance and saucy humor; 15 the first variation in a minor key, veiled but still singing, striving but only partly succeeding to lift itself from the gloom.
Variation 16 banished such thoughts and re-launched the work with a grand French overture, stately and almost arrogant in its ripping scales and fugato finish, whose momentum echoed in Variation 17, with its ghostly gusts of scales, and in the whirligig triplets of Variation 20. For contrast, there was Variation 18’s serene canon and the bell-like notes and crystalline play of voices in Variation 19.
Voices welled up from a deep, dark place in the minor-key Variation 21, but the hearty canon of 22 brought solace, and falling thirds in 23 mocked the whole enterprise with gales of laughter. In 24, this jolly crew seemed to dance off into the distance to a graceful gigue, pianissimo.
A long pause, and then the last minor-key variation, no. 25, stole in. Nicknamed the “Passion” variation for its agonized chromaticism and dissonant harmonic cross-relations (pun intended), the music meditated at length on sin and death, the pianist firmly sustaining its vocal line and adagio momentum.
The riposte to that was the upbeat sarabande of Variation 26, surrounded by a swarm of light and fast triplets. The closing variations left lightness behind, building up a blaze of trills and rocket-powered arpeggios, culminating in a Quodlibet that was not the usual genial entertainment but a triumphal march straight out of Die Meistersinger. Then the original Aria could be heard, shorn of its repeats, a pianissimo echo dwindling in the distance to close the piece.
Agree with it or not, give Yunchan Lim credit for a daring conception of the Goldbergs’ dramatic arc. With any luck, we will have decades to listen to him rethink and refine it.
Carnegie Hall presents Emanuel Ax performing works by Beethoven, Corigliano and Robert Schumann, 8 p.m. Thursday. carnegiehall.org
3 Responses to “A young pianist’s daring “Goldbergs” with Lim at Carnegie”
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Posted Apr 26, 2025 at 5:01 pm by Paul Henry
I am reminded of a comment attributed to S. Richter to the effect that one should not question the performances of a master.
It seems that Yunchan Lim at age 21 is already being accorded that deference, and having heard most of his Van Cliburn performances, and several since, I agree! His talent is most remarkable–seemingly effortless virtuosity coupled with much study and a poetic soul.
Posted Apr 27, 2025 at 7:25 pm by Sue Shapiro
For a change I completely agree with this review. I found the performance absolutely stunning and while at times I shook my head at his tempi, he pulled it off incredibly. It ultimately made sense and was convincing. On the one hand full of youthful energy, at times bursting out of the gate, but at other times quiet, thoughtful and, as the reviewer notes, crystalline.
I look forward to hearing how his interpretation changes over time. Regardless, it was clear Friday night that Lin is one of the great pianists of our time.
Posted Apr 27, 2025 at 8:06 pm by Toriepark
It’s ironic how Glenn Gould couldn’t stand Chopin’s music. Little did he know the next generation pianist will play his beloved Goldberg in Chopin Style, haha.