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Pianists Sohn Min-soo, Yunchan Lim to show off special bond during joint concerts in Seoul and Switzerland

Published: 09 Jul. 2025, 17:18 Updated: 09 Jul. 2025, 18:44

Pianists Sohn Min-soo, left, and Yunchan Lim are set to hold duo concerts in Korea and Switzerland in July. [MOC PRODUCTION]

When pianist Sohn Min-soo first heard the piano prodigy Yunchan Lim play Liszt at age 13, he knew the boy was destined for more than brilliance — he was born to sing through the piano. That memorable experience soon blossomed into an eight-year-long relationship in which Sohn became a mentor to Lim, not just in music, but also in life.

Now, the 49-year-old celebrated pianist and his 21-year-old student are taking the stage together, not as mentor and student, but as musical equals bound by a rare and reverent bond.

Pianists Sohn Min-soo, left, and Yunchan Lim are set to hold duo concerts in Korea and Switzerland in July. [MOC PRODUCTION]

Sohn described Lim as “a musician with whom I’ve shared a deep musical bond for a long time” in a written interview with local media on Tuesday.

Sohn said Lim was “more of a companion who shares and loves music” than just a student, someone “who constantly inspires me to ask new questions.”

“In preparing for the upcoming performance, we had many conversations, sharing and revisiting our perspectives on what makes ‘good music’ and a ‘good performance.’”

The two pianists are set to share the stage this month, performing works by Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Strauss on two pianos. The duo’s concert tour will take them from Seoul to Verbier, Switzerland.

Sohn and Lim first met in 2017 at an audition for the gifted education program at the Korea National University of Arts. In a 2023 interview with the New York Times, Sohn recalled hearing Lim — then 13 — play Liszt’s “Mephisto Waltzes” (1859-62), instantly recognizing his extraordinary talent.

Pianist Sohn Min-soo [JOONGANG ILBO]

Believing that the world needed to hear Lim’s teenage performances, Sohn encouraged him to enter the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022. Lim went on to win the competition, becoming its youngest-ever champion and emerging as a global star.

Sohn, who gained recognition at the age of 30 after winning the Honens International Piano Competition and performing the complete Beethoven sonatas, taught at the Korea National University of Arts before relocating to the New England Conservatory in Boston in 2023. Lim also began studying at the same conservatory that year.

In the interview, Lim referred to Sohn as his “mentor,” saying that “he has had a profound and absolute influence on both my life and music,” and called performing with Sohn “a constant blessing.”

This isn’t their first time performing as a duo. In 2021, they played Ravel’s “La valse” (1919-20) at the Music Festival Pohang on two pianos. Since then, they’ve shared a fondness for specific repertoire — both performed Liszt’s “Transcendental Études” (1852) and Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” (1741) in separate, solo recitals around the same period.

Their latest program features works they both hold dear: Rachmaninoff’s late-life “Symphonic Dances” (1940) and an arrangement of the music for Strauss’s opera “Der Rosenkavalier” (1910).

Their collaboration stems from a shared reverence for the music.

“'Symphonic Dances’ is like the summation of Rachmaninoff’s life,” Sohn said. “Yunchan and I listened to a recording of Rachmaninoff’s own voice and were deeply moved — it led to many meaningful conversations.”

In this photo provided by The Cliburn, Yunchan Lim performs a concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Chairman of the Jury Marin Alsop in the final round of the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 12, 2022. [AP]

Lim added, “These are pieces I feel have been hidden in my heart since childhood. I wouldn’t say I want to perform them — it’s more like I want to sing them together. We are mentor and student, but also two individuals from entirely different worlds. The value of this performance lies in the music that two distinct people create after long hours of reflection and struggle.”

Despite their close musical relationship, they maintain distinct interpretive styles — evident in their separate renditions of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.”

“It’s important to recognize that music isn’t completed by your own sound alone — you need to embrace your partner’s voice and share the space,” Sohn said. “For pianists used to solitude, it’s a journey that demands empathy and trust.”

Both artists agree that singing is at the heart of good duo piano playing.

“A good duo makes the piano sing,” said Lim. Sohn echoed the sentiment, calling the highlight of the two-piano recital “the moment when two different souls sing in harmony.”

This project also features another young talent — 19-year-old composer Lee Hanurij, the youngest-ever recipient of the Yumin Awards, which is organized annually by the JoongAng Group.

Sohn and Lim commissioned Lee to arrange the “Der Rosenkavalier” music for two pianos. Lim described Lee as “a musician chosen by the divine,” recalling a childhood video of Lee playing Rachmaninoff’s “Morceaux de fantaisie No. 4” (1892).

“He made the piano sing in ways I never could. He’s a great pianist, and I think that’s why he could bring out the full charm of the piano in his arrangement,” Lim said.

Sohn and Lim will perform at the Arts Center Incheon on July 12, Lotte Concert Hall in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on July 14, and the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 15. The Seoul concerts are part of the Hyundai Card Culture Project 30, a number of cultural events organized by the credit card company.

The duo will then head to the Verbier Festival in Switzerland on July 25.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM HO-JEONG [[email protected]]