Pianist Lim Yunchan, School of Music, Becomes Van Cliburn’s Youngest Ever Gold Medalist

Pianist Lim Yunchan, a current student of the School of Music, became the winner of the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition that ended in Fort Worth, Texas, on 18 June. With the win, Lim Yunchan, 18 years old, earned the title of the youngest-ever gold medalist in the 60 years of Cliburn’s history. At the competition, Lim was also awarded the Beverley Taylor Smith Award for Best Performance of New Work and Carla and Kelly Thopson Award, winning the three crowns all together. Lim will be granted $175,000 prize money along with three years of individualized career management, including the world concert tours, release of a record studio album, and performance attire provided by Neiman Marcus.

In the final round, led by conductor Marin Alsop, the jury chair, Lim and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, op. 37 and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30. While his performance induced the longest standing ovation at the Cliburn since 2001, it raised the expectation for his championship.

Lim Yunchan debuted with the 2015 Kumho Prodigy Concert. He won the second prize and the Chopin Special Award at the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists in 2018 and the third prize and audience award at the Cooper International Competition. In 2019, he became the youngest first-prize winner of the Isang Yun International Competition in addition to the UNESCO audience prize and Sung Yong Park special prize. 

Lim Yunchan started to study under Prof. Sohn Min-soo at the Korea National Institute for Gifted in Arts (KNIGA) in 2017 and entered the School of Music in 2021 as an art prodigy. Upcoming 27 August, Lim will perform at the Gyechon Classic Festival co-hosted by the K-Arts and the Hyundai Motor Chun Mong-Koo Foundation.

ⓒ The Cliburn