FORT WORTH, Texas, October 25, 2022—The Cliburn is proud to announce that Yunchan Lim, gold medalist of the Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will join the IMG Artists roster for general management. He will be represented by Nicholas Mathias and Federico M. Benigni from the company’s London office, in conjunction with MOC Production for Asia.
“My colleagues and I at IMG Artists are really delighted that Yunchan Lim is joining us for general management,” said Mathias. “Since becoming the winner of the Van Cliburn Competition a few months ago, Yunchan has attracted worldwide attention with his extraordinary performances. There is no doubt that Yunchan is an exceptional musical talent and someone who is clearly destined for a major international career of the highest level in the years ahead. We very much look forward to helping and guiding Yunchan on this journey.”
In June 2022, Yunchan Lim became the youngest person ever to win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; his performances throughout showcased a “magical ability” and a “natural, instinctive quality” (La Scena) that astounded listeners around the world. As Jury Chair Marin Alsop expressed: “Yunchan is that rare artist who brings profound musicality and prodigious technique organically together.” The depth of his artistry and connection to listeners also secured him the Audience Award and Best Performance of a New Work (for Sir Stephen Hough’s Fanfare Toccata).
Just 18 years old, Yunchan’s ascent to international stardom has been meteoric. His audacious Cliburn Semifinal Round performance of Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes “created a buzz throughout the international piano community”—his “intelligent virtuosity and total immersion into Liszt’s idiom truly defined transcendental” (Gramophone). And his final Cliburn Competition appearance with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 delivered the defining moment of the three-week event; as one critic noted: “The applause that followed was endless: a star had emerged before our eyes” (Seen and Heard International). The video of that performance trended globally on YouTube in the days after, reaching #24, and has now become the most-watched version of that piece on the platform, amassing more than 5.5 million views in just one month. Including the new remastered version, the performance has now been seen at least 10 million times.
Born in Siheung, Korea, Yunchan Lim began piano lessons at age 7, when it was time to choose an after-school activity; he entered the Music Academy of the Seoul Arts Center the next year and quickly became immersed in his musical studies. He auditioned for and was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts at age 13, where he met his teacher and mentor, Minsoo Sohn. Yunchan entered the international music stage a year later, in 2018, winning second prize and the Chopin Special Award in his first-ever competition, the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists. Also that year, he stood out as the youngest participant in the Cooper International Competition, where he won both third prize and the audience prize, and was provided the opportunity to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra. The next year, 2019, brought more accolades, when, at the age of 15, he was the youngest to win Korea’s IsangYun International Competition, also taking home two special prizes.
Yunchan has since performed across South Korea—including with the Korean Orchestra Festival, Korea Symphony, Suwon Philharmonic, and Busan Philharmonic Orchestras, among others—as well as in Madrid, at the invitation of the Korea Cultural Center in Spain. He also participated in the recording of “2020 Young Musicians of Korea,” organized by the Korean Broadcasting System and released that November. His 2022–2023 inaugural tour as Cliburn winner will take him across three continents, with highlights including the Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society, and Performing Arts Houston in the United States; Seoul Arts Center, National Concert Hall in Taipei, and the KBS and Korean National Symphony Orchestras in Asia; and Wigmore Hall and Fondation Louis Vuitton in Europe.
Speaking at a press conference after the Competition, Yunchan said, “I made up my mind that I will live my life only for the sake of music, and I decided that I will give up everything for music… I wanted my music to become deeper, and if that desire reached the audience, I’m satisfied.”
He is currently in his second year at the Korea National University of Arts, where he continues to study with Mr. Sohn.
ABOUT THE 2022 CLIBURN COMPETITION
Widely considered one of the preeminent international music contests, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition exists to share excellent classical music with the largest international audience possible and to launch the careers of its winners every four years. Building on a rich tradition that began with its 1962 origins in honor of Van Cliburn and his vision for using music to serve audiences and break down boundaries, the Cliburn seeks, with each edition, to achieve the highest artistic standards while utilizing contemporary tools to advance its reach. The world’s top 18- to 30-year-old pianists compete for gold in front of a live audience in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as a global online viewership of more than 25 million. Beyond cash prizes, winning a Cliburn medal means comprehensive career management, artistic support, and bolstered publicity efforts for the three years following.
The sixteenth edition of the Cliburn Competition took place June 2–18, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas at the brand-new Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU (Preliminary and Quarterfinal Rounds) and Bass Performance Hall (Semifinal and Final Rounds). The Competition, postponed from 2021 (a first in the Cliburn’s 60-year history), saw a record-breaking number of applications—388 pianists from 51 countries.
The fully produced webcast included all 28 Competition live performances—as well as offered insightful commentary and behind-the-scenes access emulating a news- or sportscast—across multiple platforms. Viewers around the world watched the entire Competition live and on demand at Cliburn.org, cliburn.medici.tv, and youtube.com/thecliburn. New this year: the Cliburn was available in 4K HDR and surround sound on HYFI. Viewers can subscribe at hyfi.live/vancliburn to experience the next best thing to being in the concert hall.
Read a complete Competition summary in the latest issue of Cliburn News
ABOUT THE CLIBURN
The Cliburn advances classical piano music throughout the world. Its international competitions, education programs, and concert series embody an enduring commitment to artistic excellence and the discovery of new artists. Established in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1962, the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (sixteenth edition, June 2-18, 2022) remains the most visible expression of that mission and is, as always, committed to its original ideals of supporting and launching the careers of emerging artists, ages 18–30. It shares the transformative powers of music with a wide global audience, through fully produced webcasts and by providing comprehensive career management and concert bookings to its winners. Rounding out its mission, the Cliburn also produces the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival (third edition, June 2023) for exceptional 13- to 17-year-old pianists and the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition (eighth edition, October 12-18, 2022) for outstanding non-professional pianists age 35 and older.
Over a four-year cycle, the Cliburn contributes to North Texas’ cultural landscape with over 170 classical music performances for 150,000 attendees through competitions, free community concerts, and its signature Cliburn Concerts series. It presents 1,000 Cliburn in the Classroom in-school, interactive music education programs for more than 200,000 area elementary students. During the same time period, it garners the world’s attention with more than 30 million visits from 170 nations for competition webcasts; 300 concerts worldwide booked for competition winners; more than 10,000 news articles about the Cliburn and its winners; and regular national radio broadcasts to 245 public radio stations.
2022 CLIBURN COMPETITION MAJOR UNDERWRITERS
Amon G. Carter Foundation
Ann L. & Carol Green Rhodes Charitable Trust
BNSF Railway Foundation
C L Rowan Charitable and Educational Fund, Inc.
Fort Worth Promotion and Development Fund
Fort Worth Tourism Public Improvement District
Historic Hilton Fort Worth
Luther King Capital Management
Meta Alice Keith Bratten Donor Advised Fund at the North Texas Community Foundation
Mercedes T. Bass Management Trust
National Endowment for the Arts
Sewell Automotive Companies
Sid W. Richardson Foundation
Steinway & Sons
TCU
T.J. Brown & C.A. Lupton Foundation, Inc.
Texas Commission on the Arts
The Deena Jo Heide-Diesslin Foundation
The Frill Foundation
The Garvey Texas Foundation
The Junior League of Fort Worth, Inc.
The Rea Charitable Trust
The Ryan Foundation
Visit Fort Worth
William & Catherine Bryce Memorial Trust
William E. Scott Foundation
