Pianist Lim Yunchan double winner at Gramophone Awards

South Korean pianist Lim Yunchan won the Gramophone Classical Music Award in the piano category, becoming the first Korean pianist to receive the prestigious award.

The 20-year-old pianist won the piano category with his album "Chopin: Etudes" and also received the young artist of the year award.

Established in 1977, the Gramophone Classical Music Award is one of the most significant accolades in the classical recording industry.

Another album by Lim, "Yunchan Lim -- Liszt: Transcendental Etudes," was also among the three finalists in the piano category this year.

It is unprecedented for a pianist to have two albums shortlisted in the same year of the Gramophone Awards but Lim’s Liszt and Chopin albums, issued at either end of the qualifying period, not only made the shortlist but were separated by a single vote at the top of a dauntingly competitive category, according to the organizer of the award.

"Chopin: Etudes," Lim's Decca Classics debut, was released on April 19, while "Yunchan Lim -- Liszt: Transcendental Etudes," recorded during the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, was released earlier on May 20, 2023.

Lim is the first Korean to win the award in the piano category, with Chung Kyung-wha winning the violin award twice, in 1990 and 1994, and cellist Chang Han-na winning in 2003.

Naming Lim as its young artist of the year, the Gramophone Classical Music Awards remarked, “Rarely has a young pianist made such an impression so quickly. Competition success and a debut studio album confirm Yunchan Lim to be an exceptional talent.”

Lim credited the people close to him with enabling his success.

"I owe a deep gratitude to my family and the people around me for my music. Creating music means expressing every small detail of my life, including my experiences, what I've heard, and what I've felt, as everything in the world is interconnected," he was quoted as saying by his agency Moc Production after receiving the awards.

"From the tone of my parents’ voices -- probably the first music I encountered when I was born -- to everything I have seen, heard, felt, experienced, and learned, all of these elements are woven into my music. Those who truly deserve such a significant award are my family, teachers, agency, great artists and friends," he noted.

Lim gained international prominence in 2022 when he claimed the top prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the competition.