Lim Yunchan Embarks on Nationwide Tour After Two Years with Schubert and Scriabin

Touring Five Cities Including Lotte Concert Hall on May 6

Pianist Yunchan Lim will hold a nationwide solo recital tour in Korea this May, marking his return to the domestic stage after two years. He will perform six times across five cities. The tour will begin at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul on May 6, followed by Daegu Concert House on May 8, Busan Concert Hall on May 9, Tongyeong Concert Hall at Tongyeong International Music Hall on May 10, Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on May 12, and Art Center Incheon on May 13.

Since his victory at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Yunchan Lim has held nationwide recital tours in Korea every two years.

For this tour, Yunchan Lim will perform Schubert’s Piano Sonata No. 17 “Gasteiner” and Scriabin’s Piano Sonatas No. 2, 3, and 4. Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 drew international acclaim when Lim performed it during the second round of the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Notably, Schubert will be featured for the first time in Lim’s domestic recital tour repertoire.

Yunchan Lim personally curated the entire tour, from the selection of pieces to the concert venues, number of performances, and intervals between them. In particular, to deliver the finest sound, he chose Korea’s top classical concert halls as venues, including Lotte Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, Daegu Concert House, Busan Concert Hall, Tongyeong Concert Hall at Tongyeong International Music Hall, and Art Center Incheon.

Both Schubert and Scriabin were composers who stood at the threshold between the end of one era and the beginning of another. Schubert’s Piano Sonata No. 17, composed during the transition from the Classical to the Romantic period, is regarded as the pinnacle of his middle-period sonatas and a prelude to his late sonatas. Scriabin’s Sonatas No. 2, 3, and 4 bridge the late Romantic era and the dawn of twentieth-century music, showing the composer’s journey from the language of Chopin to his own unique harmonic world.

Despite their short lives and struggles with solitude, health, and mental crises, both Schubert and Scriabin pursued the music they believed in until the end. Yunchan Lim, who aspires to create “work that will be remembered for a long time without wavering,” sees himself reflected in their artistic journeys.

Yunchan Lim stated, “I wanted to create work that would endure the passage of time and be remembered for a long time. I have structured the program around Schubert and Scriabin, whom I have loved for a long time and never wished to turn away from.”

Yunchan Lim gained global attention after becoming the youngest-ever winner of the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022. His “Chopin: Etudes” album, released by Decca Classics in 2024, won both “Recording of the Year” and the “Instrumental Award” at the prestigious Gramophone Music Awards 2024, and he was also named “Young Artist of the Year,” creating a worldwide sensation.

His “Bach: Goldberg Variations” album, released on February 6, achieved double platinum status (by Korean standards). For the 2026–2027 season, he is scheduled to perform the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas in four recitals at Carnegie Hall in the United States. This series of performances, on par with a Carnegie Hall residency, demonstrates that Yunchan Lim has firmly established himself as one of the most prominent pianists on today’s international stage.

The program for this nationwide tour will also be presented during his global tour in the first half of 2026.

Tickets for the Seoul concerts on May 6 and May 12 will be available for reservation starting March 27. Tickets for the May 6 performance can be reserved from 11:00 a.m. on March 27 through Lotte Concert Hall and NolTicket, while tickets for the May 12 performance will be available from 1:00 p.m. on the same day through Seoul Arts Center and NolTicket.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.