The South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim won the prestigious Van Cliburn Piano Competition in 2022 at the age of 18, the youngest winner in the competition’s history, which explains why he has been signed by Decca (Universal). This, his first release under that contract, gives us the two sets of Études (or Studies) by Chopin. 

This technically challenging music is often a calling card for young pianists. They were the first pieces recorded by Maurizio Pollini (first for HMV, then soon after for DG) at the start of his own career. Lim cites even older pianists as his primary influence in terms of style, specifying Ignaz Friedman and Alfred Cortot. He certainly displays the devil-may-care virtuosity and sparkling surface glitter of pianists of the Golden Age.

On a personal note, I always listen first to Étude Op. 10, No. 5 in G-flat, the so-called “Black Keys” étude. That is the piece that nipped my future as a concert pianist in the bud. It is virtually all on the black keys, and unless you have an impeccable classical technique you simply cannot play it....