I’ve been a serious classical pianist my whole life. My son, Jonathan, an even better pianist, could have been a pro if he hadn’t decided to go to law school. A couple of years ago, he called my attention to an 18 year old Korean named Yunchan Lim who had just won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition finishing with a performance of Rach3, the piano insiders term for Rachmaninoff’s 3rd piano concerto. “Dad, he gets it, even better than Horowitz,” he raved, referring to Vladimir Horowitz’s definitive recording. At his insistence, I watched the performance on Youtube and was overwhelmed. He not only brought down the house with a flawless, brilliant performance like nothing I had ever heard (or seen), he brought the judges to their feet. Interviews afterwards with a couple of the judges raved about the performance speculating that it may have been the best performance they ever heard. You also have to keep in mind that this was a live performance, not a recording session with multiple takes.
Since then, I have been watching his performances of a host of other things on Youtube and I continue to be amazed, not only at his technically flawless performances but also his interpretations. Watching him is like watching a work of art, his hands, his facial expressions, his attention to detail. It is said that he practices all day by choice, loves every minute of it. But what I see is hard to imagine. The musical knowledge, quick learning, the interpretive reading of the pieces, the technical perfection, the musical memory all compressed into an unassuming 18 year old Korean youngster. It has to be a very rare accident of nature. My wife said it’s what makes her believe in reincarnation.
In any case, if you have any interest in classical music, the piano in particular, I urge you to watch the Rach3 performance at the Van Cliburn competition on Youtube and then any of the many other videos available. It is an experience, sheer joy. He is now 21 and in great demand. Someone asked me if he had any specialty, any particular composer or music. My answer was yes, his specialty was the piano.
