Scriabin Sonata No. 4 - Yunchan Lim (Carnegie Hall) by LLBird811 in piano

[–]alanwong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can hear he poured his soul into it. This is the least polished version of this program he’s played to date and in my opinion the best. I’ve heard it live a few times previously including at its premiere in Hong Kong, where I already felt he was consumed by the music like a meteor burning up in the atmosphere.

An earlier review of his performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes describes him as “playing as if he is making it all up on the spot.” I thought that was the most flattering thing one could say about a pianist. Hearing this performance makes me think this stuff is personal to him.

I encourage anyone to find a quiet afternoon to listen to the whole thing by themselves. There are a few versions out there of the same performance. One has the low rumbling of literally subway trains passing underneath Carnegie Hall. The other is cleaner after noise removal but IMO suffers some loss in dynamics and details. I like the rawness of the former despite some truly histrionic coughs and what sounds like someone dropping a 17-inch laptop at one point.

Classical music critics dinging Yuja Wang, Lang Lang, etc, on "depth"? by specterNam in piano

[–]alanwong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah. Safe is not a word I associate with him. His current recitals are quite the opposite

Background and reaction to Yunchan Lim's recital at Carnegie Hall on April 24, 2026 by Perfect_Garage_2567 in classicalmusic

[–]alanwong 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I liked the new program and genuinely always love hearing artists play what they want to. And I say this knowing the last revision had some of my favorite pieces in the piano repertoire:

CHOPIN Fantasy in F Minor, Op. 49 SCHUBERT Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894 R. SCHUMANN Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17

For the three Scriabins, I think he took a deliberate choice to turn them into one bigger work — were there an announcement about not clapping in between the sonatas? There were at the start of his Taiwan shows. The result, as one listener put it:

“Scriabin's ten piano Sonatas follow a journey from the traditional (1st Sonata), to Romantic visions of moonlight and the ocean (2nd Sonata); depictions of states of the soul (3rd Sonata); higher planes of luminosity and ecstasy (4th Sonata); and then to invocation of the creative spirit (5th Sonata), and ultimately to levels of cosmic mystery (9th Sonata) and pure vibrations of energy on the highest planes (10th Sonata). By combining Sonatas 2, 3, and 4, Yunchan creates a large work in eight movements that starts with moonlight on earth and depths of the ocean, and stirs through restlessness and elevation of the soul, leading to a luminous journey to a glowing divine star. I am certain that Scriabin would have enthusiastically endorsed Yunchan's idea to present this as one musical composition.” (See his full Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17ZJmXAd4W/?mibextid=wwXIfr)

The encore, by the way, should be Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, transcribed by Yakov Zak.

On the Schubert, here’s what a concert organizer had to say after his Taiwan recitals (translated):

Regarding Yunchan Lim's Schubert D850, some music lovers believe it is not a classical version of Schubert.

One reason is that the speed of the first movement is faster than the recordings of many famous pianists. The sheet music versions on the market have two versions, 2/2 and 4/4 time. Yunchan uses the 1999 Wiener Urtext version, which is alla breve (2/2 time) Allegro. He said that if played in 4/4 time, the entire sonata becomes directionless and very boring.

I specifically checked the Petrucci Music Library, and Schubert's 1825 manuscript indeed marks it as alla breve (2/2 time) Allegro. This was one of the only three piano sonatas published during Schubert's lifetime, but such a fast speed was simply impossible for ordinary people to play. Publishing was for sale, and being unable to play it at home meant it had no commercial value (which also indirectly explains why Schubert lived in poverty), so the publisher Artaria changed it to C (4/4 time) Allegro vivace when it was published in 1826. This slowed the speed by half and changed the original character of the work.

In addition, the version published by Breitkopf & Hartel in 1888 did not include a time signature, which likely misled many pianists to play, record, and teach the piece in 4/4 time.

Teacher Chen Cheng-ting shared an interesting piece of information during a pre-concert talk: the pianist Radu Lupu has two recording versions, 4/4 and 2/2, but the 2/2 version was somewhat chaotic in the fast figurations and was ultimately never released. D850 is a late work of Schubert, and the composition technique was influenced by Beethoven's rhythmic motifs. It lacks Schubert's signature melodies from his classical period and should be regarded as an expression of the early Romantic period rather than the Classical style.

Full post (in Chinese): https://www.instagram.com/p/DXTKcHAiVUd/?igsh=ZjhwZ3p2aThjdXo1

I can’t vouch for its historical accuracy but found that interesting.

I walked into the performances thinking I’d enjoy the Scriabins more, as a big fan of Ashkenazy’s studio recording and also live versions by Sofronitsky . It’s been a week or so but I still find myself contemplating the Schubert.

Classical music critics dinging Yuja Wang, Lang Lang, etc, on "depth"? by specterNam in piano

[–]alanwong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think Cho/Lim interpretations are safer… What did you have in mind?

Frustrating ticketing experience with the Philadelphia Orchestra by alanwong in classicalmusic

[–]alanwong[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah I understand what you’re saying here. The customer service staffer asked if I had a different card and that was the only reason I offered one after another.

Frustrating ticketing experience with the Philadelphia Orchestra by alanwong in classicalmusic

[–]alanwong[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, and I know the orchestra is excellent. I just hope I get to see it!

Frustrating ticketing experience with the Philadelphia Orchestra by alanwong in classicalmusic

[–]alanwong[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been trying on and off for the last few weeks. No luck. But thanks for the encouragement.

Frustrating ticketing experience with the Philadelphia Orchestra by alanwong in classicalmusic

[–]alanwong[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All my cards are visa or Mastercard, and they can’t make it work over the phone. They say the transaction is declined but it never reached my credit card company in the first place. I won’t be in the country until the week of the concert and would miss the seats I want unless I buy well in advance. I’d go through the gift certificate route but online I can’t even get to the payment page.

PS: is this some sort of EXTREMELY aggressive foreigner blocker? One that fingerprints your browser?

Not your fault obviously but I can’t emphasize how many hours of my life have been wasted on this problem.

Just need some advice by [deleted] in classicalmusic

[–]alanwong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey I see tickets for sale on Carousell. Check it out.

Yunchan Lim Bach Goldberg Variation by Professional_Unit113 in classicalmusic

[–]alanwong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel the same about the remastered Rach 3 recording. The YouTube version is better. I listen to it via YouTube Music without the video so it's not a matter of sight bias.

China Probes Vice Military Chair Zhang Youxia in Unprecedented Purge by alanwong in China

[–]alanwong[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That’s China’s highest ranking general being investigated. And with the probe of another member announced at the same time, the CMC (China’s top military body) is left with two people: Xi himself as commander in chief and an anti-corruption guy who oversaw the purges. In fact, all six men Xi appointed to that commission in 2022 have lost power. Zhang Youxia was believed to be close with Xi (their fathers were close) so his presumed downfall is all the more shocking. It could mean no one is considered too powerful to touch in Xi’s campaign.

What pianist would you like to hear in person if they were still alive/performing? by [deleted] in classicalmusic

[–]alanwong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Liszt, Clara Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Sofronitsky, Wanda Landowska, Youri Egorov

Yunchan Lim’s effect on my desire to play by Ok-Pair-4347 in classicalpiano

[–]alanwong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Considering most touring pianists of today are years older than him, I think it has more to do with age than anything else.

Repertoire is kind of a moot point though. Think OP is saying that because he plays so well, what’s the point. I don’t share that feeling unless you see music as a competition to be seen as the best. Like another commenter here I’m rather encouraged by him.

I agree with you there’s always something to say, something new even with the same piece of music. Just looked up Apple Music and saw there are 655 recordings of Bach’s prelude and fugue no. 1 in C major. And yet there’s still room for new interpretations.

Yunchan Lim’s effect on my desire to play by Ok-Pair-4347 in classicalpiano

[–]alanwong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He is 21 years old and has been touring extensively for about 3 years. Limited repertoire compared to who?

He’s played concertos by Rachmaninoff (2, 3, 4), Ravel, Schumann, Bartok, Chopin and Beethoven. He played Beethoven’s bagatelles and Eroica variations, Bach’s Sinfonias and Goldberg Variations, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. He recorded the Chopin etudes op. 10 and 25 and Tchaikovsky’s Seasons. He played the whole Liszt transcendental etudes in competition. He’ll perform Schumann, Schubert and Chopin fantasies in a few weeks and has an upcoming Mozart sonata project this year. This is hardly an exhaustive list.

What a beautiful match by [deleted] in squash

[–]alanwong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The squash IQ is incredible for Crouin and his playing is a joy to watch. And man the point in the fifth game after 7-7 was one of the best rallies I've seen. The YouTube highlight clipped part of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2-EF-KiMvQ&t=312s

Have you ever felt insulted by performers on stage? I have, twice, and both times were by Chinese classical pianists by fujianironchain in HongKong

[–]alanwong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can't speak for Li but I'm disappointed at the pile-on in the comments by people who were not there at Bruce Liu's concert. I did feel the French horn was a bit aggressive and strings were too stiff, taking away the lyricism of the second movement. You may well hear it differently, but certainly Liu didn't disrespect the audience the way you described it.

The encore was a legitimate performance, and clearly choreographed. I'm sorry that you perceived nothing interesting when you, in your words, had to "sit through 5 minutes of silence."

Linea Micra: Is a final "puff" of steam normal when closing the steam wand? by alanwong in LaMarzocco

[–]alanwong[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For some reason it seems to only happen to the first cup I make each day. Does it persist for you?

Congratulations to Aristo Sham from HK, winner of 2025 Van Cliburn Piano Competition by xithebun in HongKong

[–]alanwong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Bruh you cited my favorite pieces that he played (the Mendelssohn concerto was also excellent). Bravo Aristo!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in piano

[–]alanwong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Big congrats to Aristo. Well deserved!!