Orchid Classics presents an album of encores for cello and piano performed by the outstanding South Korean cellist Hee-Young Lim and pianist Chuhui Liang. Praised by The Washington Post as ‘a deeply gifted musician’ with ‘an exceptional sense of lyricism’ and ‘near-flawless technique’, Hee-Young Lim has quickly established herself as one of the most charismatic, captivating and rapidly rising stars of the younger generation.
Pianist Dong Hyek Lim, a bit older than the youthful face in the graphics might suggest, has gained a reputation as a Chopin specialist, with restrained, often exquisitely detailed performances made for the small recital hall rather than for the concert hall. This was, of course, the kind of venue for which Chopin wrote most of his music, and this is a very fine tour through the much-recorded 24 Preludes, Op. 28, which form the centerpiece of this album. Lim does well to introduce things with the flashier and rarely played Variations brillantes in B flat major, Op. 12, commanding the listener's attention before delving into the Preludes, some of the most harmonically intricate music Chopin wrote. Sample any of the really famous Preludes, such as the Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4, for an idea of what Lim is up to here: he not only lingers over dissonances, but explores their potential directions with sensitivity and intelligence, all while keeping the top of the dynamic range not very high. Lim takes you back to the public world with the Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57, and Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60, which show him to be capable of a more brilliant style. London's Henry Wood Hall fits these pieces well, but Warner's engineers might have gone with even a more intense, intimate space for the preludes. In any event, the performance of those is one of the most absorbing to have come along in quite some time.
Superlim is lim´s second album (their first one was released on db-productions in 2002). This album was recorded in December 2004 and mixed, edited and produced by David Carlsson and lim in 2006. lim´s music is (still) based on rhytmic ideas, but the sound of the group has evolved into a more acoustic and suggestive one.
This Deutsche Grammophon release marks the debut of the pianist Yunchan Lim, who won the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (he was the second winner in a row from South Korea) and has been called classical music's answer to K-pop. In several ways, he has the right kind of unconventional, unassuming attitude to stand out from the crowd, beginning with that shown by this album itself. Where anyone else would have issued a solo album or, at the least, an album of high-profile concertos with a major orchestra, Lim chooses a live performance with a regional South Korean orchestra on an album with several wholly orchestral pieces. (This, of course, makes him stand out all the more.)