“With 15 of Bach’s keyboard sinfonias, Lim weighted the counterpoints so perfectly, and deployed such a subtle metrical flexibility, that every inner detail seemed to be imbued with a character of its own.”

“The sighing phrases of the Dowland were transmuted into subtly coloured, immaculately voiced arcs, while the Bach miniatures were imaginatively dispatched with a different mood or temperament for each – jaunty, good-humoured, pensive and so forth – ending with a poignant reading of the F minor, with its anguished chromaticisms.”

“His debut with the New York Philharmonic showed that he is an artist capable of considerably more than the usual technical fireworks. Not that the pyrotechnics weren’t there — he attacked Rachmaninov’s imposing chords with ferocity and clarity, and took the octaves in the coda finale with reckless abandon.

Lim was at his best in the quietermoments of the piece, voicing Rachmaninov’s long melodies with elegant restraint. He took the piece at a deliberate, almost trance-like pace, with judicious rubati that made the piece sound fresh.”

“There was, in his performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, the juxtaposition of precise clarity and expansive reverie; the vivid scenes and bursts of wit; the sense of contrasting yet organically developing moods; the endless and persuasive bendings of time — the qualities that tend to characterize night time wanderings of the mind.”

“There is no substitute for rare talent, and 18-year-old Yunchan Lim of South Korea is, indeed, the real deal…when the young South Korean is in his element, there are few sounds more ravishing in the world.”

“Lim stormed his way through the finale of Rachmaninov’s mighty work, as Marin Alsop attentively directed the orchestra in keeping with the young pianist’s impressive pace. Alsop could be seen nodding in approval as Lim expertly transitioned from dramatic cadenzas to the sweeping Romantic themes that Rachmaninov is known and loved for.”