Over the last few years, virtuoso pianist Yunchan Lim has been captivating the classical music world with his technique, heart, and old-soul wisdom.
Lucky for us, there are a number of incredible solo recital performances of Lim’s available for free on the Internet.
More than a few of them date back to when he was in his early teens!
Yunchan Lim
Today, we’re looking at ten of the most underrated solo piano performances by Yunchan Lim currently on YouTube.
Bach, arr. by Hess – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (1723)
Yunchan Lim may be just 22 years old, but he is famous for the maturity of his playing. More than once, conductor Marin Alsop has referred to him as an “old soul.”
One of the most endearingly “old soul” qualities about him is his voracious appetite for the obscure recordings of pianists who were born in the nineteenth century.
In this performance, he pays tribute to Dame Myra Hess (1890–1965), who created this solo piano version of a theme from Bach‘s cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (“Heart and mouth and deed and life”), BWV 147.
This music has become so synonymous with events like weddings and holidays that it can sound treacly to modern ears, but Lim treats it with a reverence that allows it to come across as completely, utterly sincere.
Bach – Goldberg Variations (1741)
In 2022, after Yunchan Lim finished his final round of competition at the Cliburn Competition, a Korean television station asked him in an interview if he was stressed about finding out the results. He claimed that he was not, because he had important things to worry about, such as his upcoming performances of the Goldberg Variations.
Clearly, the Goldberg Variations mean a great deal to Lim.
After focusing on them during the 2022-23 season and beyond, he was booked to perform them at Carnegie Hall in April 2025.
His record label, Decca, recorded that concert, and the recording was released in February 2026.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (Yunchan Lim, piano)
Haydn – Piano Sonata in B-minor, Hob.XVI:32 (1774–1776)
Here’s an adorable video from an October 2017 performance of Lim playing the first movement of Haydn‘s Piano Sonata in B-minor.
At the time, he was just thirteen years old and had only been playing for six years.
This was the age he was when he auditioned for and was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, where he met his teacher, Minsoo Sohn.
Sohn joined the New England Conservatory of Music faculty in 2023, and Lim – despite being one of the most in-demand pianists in the world – still continues to take lessons from him today.
Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 14, “Moonlight” (1801)
This performance of the Moonlight Sonata dates back to when Lim was sixteen years old.
It’s impossible to guess that the pianist is so young. There are no histrionics here: just a simmering intensity and a stunning subtlety.
You can hear how much he enjoys emphasising the inner voices in the opening slow movement, which creates an aura of new discovery. That tendency is, happily, a major distinguishing feature of his adult playing.
The third movement is a thrilling roller coaster. It feels like the spirit of Beethoven is somehow going to burst out of the piano strings.
The Moonlight Sonata is one of the most popular classical piano pieces on YouTube, with several of the most-viewed piano videos of all time featuring a performance of it.
It’s easy to imagine that if Lim ever revisits this repertoire in adulthood, it too would become a viral sensation.
Beethoven – Seven Bagatelles, Op. 33 (1802)
One striking characteristic of Yunchan Lim’s career so far is that he has not always gravitated toward the most technically difficult works.
For instance, he recently opted to record Tchaikovsky‘s The Seasons, which is a set of twelve character pieces for solo piano. Some might call them, a bit sneeringly, “parlour pieces.”
You might put these seven bagatelles by Beethoven in a similar category.
But even when works are short and small, Lim treats them with an intellect and passion that makes them shine.
Chopin – Nocturne No. 2, Op. 9 (ca. 1831)
Yunchan Lim appears to have a deep affinity with Chopin. The two seem like kindred spirits. At least at first glance, both have come across as shy and quiet, and both value sensitivity and subtlety.
Lim is playing this nocturne at the same age that Chopin was when he wrote it. It’s lovely to hear a young pianist who understands and loves it so intuitively.
Lim also seems to have studied Chopin’s obsession with opera singing, to deeply satisfying effect. It would be difficult to make the melody sound more like a soprano!
Liszt – Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième année: Italie (1837–1849)
Everyone talks about Lim’s Cliburn-winning Rachmaninoff third concerto from the finals, but a performance of Lim’s that sometimes goes under the radar is his jaw-dropping set of Liszt Transcendental Etudes, played during his semifinal recital.
It wasn’t the first time he made a major statement with a Liszt performance. He proves his connection to Liszt and his musical language all over again in this magical rendition of the composer’s Years of Pilgrimage: Italy.
This performance was recorded in 2020, when Lim was just sixteen years old.
Liszt – Liebestraum No. 3 (1850)
Here’s another Liszt work played in delightful fashion: his Liebestraum No. 3.
In the hands of lesser pianists, this work can sound too melodramatic for its own good, but Lim is simply allergic to melodrama.
The opening theme in the lower-to-middle range of the piano is sung in a beautiful way in this performance.
Later, when other fingers are weaving passagework around that theme, Lim’s gift for voicing is on full display.
This performance is, put simply, a joy.
Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition (1874)
Lim played this performance of Mussorgsky‘s Pictures at an Exhibition at the prestigious Verbier Festival in July 2024.
The performance bubbles over with youthful energy and eagerness.
Listen in the opening how full and lush he’s able to make those famous ringing chords.
Scriabin – Excerpts from 24 Preludes for Piano, Op. 11 (1888–1896)
Here’s another performance from 13-year-old Lim: a handful of Scriabin‘s preludes.
Music by Scriabin can sometimes feel elusive; the music trades in ambiguity in a way that can feel like an aloof blend of Liszt, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin.
But even at thirteen, Lim has found a way in to every single one of these preludes and decided on a point of view. He is not just playing these works; he is using his hands in deliberate fashion to craft the ideas he has constructed in his mind.
It’s such a gift to have these early performances of Lim’s so easily available…not only because they’re great performances, but because it’s fascinating to see how he has matured as a player over the years, and only grown more mature and deliberate.
This recording was made less than ten years ago. Who knows what insights he’ll cook up over the next decade?
Conclusion
Yunchan Lim
Taken as a whole, these ten performances paint a portrait of Yunchan Lim’s artistic evolution, going from an unnervingly prodigious thirteen-year-old exploring Haydn and Scriabin to a fully mature interpreter at total ease onstage playing Bach at Carnegie Hall.
As fans listen to his Goldberg Variations release on Decca, and as Lim decides what he wants to record in the future, these live solo performances remind us just how far he has come…and offer tantalising hints as to what might come next.
For more of the best in classical music, sign up for our E-Newsletter
