🎹 From Lim Yun-chan's Encore Storm to Sungshin Women's University's 90th Anniversary, This Week's Classical Highlights! - 2026.11.06 | Classical Music

Hello, fans!

Here's news that's going to make your heart race this weekend 🎹 It's all about Lim Yun-chan!

🎹 Lim Yun-chan × Philadelphia Orchestra, a Reunion Four Years in the Making

At the Philadelphia Orchestra's Korea concert at Artium Incheon on the 5th, Lim Yun-chan performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 as soloist. The conductor was Marin Alsop, and since they had met as conductor and soloist in the final round of the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, fans had been excited about this performance from the start ^[1]. The audience gave a standing ovation, and the performance has already passed 20 million views on YouTube 👀 ^[1]

👏 Four Encores!

When the applause would not stop after the concerto, Lim Yun-chan and Alsop came back out four times. Encores are usually short solo pieces by the soloist, but Lim instead replayed the final section of the third movement of the concerto he had just performed 🔥 One description compared it to 'crossing the finish line of a 40-minute race and immediately sprinting again,' and we can't believe how good that is! ^[1] The moment the two held hands together after the performance was also very touching 🥹 ^[1]

🎼 The Next Day: A Mozart Deconstruction

At the Seoul Arts Center performance on the 6th, Lim played the second movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 8 as an encore after the first half. He used the pedal richly, then played with detached touches, and with bold tempo changes and ornaments, he freely deconstructed and reassembled Mozart, making it sound almost like Baroque or contemporary music 🤯 Since this year he has been performing a complete Mozart sonata series at Carnegie Hall in New York, and this performance was said to feel like a preview of part of that series for fans back home ^[1].

🧩 Cadenza Choice: Which Version This Time?

A cadenza is a showy solo passage for the soloist. At the end of the first movement of Rachmaninoff's concerto, there are two cadenzas: a bright, bouncing 'Original Version' and an 'Ossia (alternative) Version' that builds grandeur with thick chords. Many pianists choose the Ossia, but Lim won his 2022 victory with the Original, and recently he has been performing the Ossia more often, drawing attention. This performance used the same Original Version as his winning performance four years ago 🎯 ^[1]. The same piece with such different choices is a definite highlight for fans!

🎤 Alsop on Lim Yun-chan

Before this first Korea tour, Alsop said in a video interview with this outlet: 'What's astonishing about Lim's talent is that it's not just outstanding technique, but that he carries poetry in his heart' ✨ ^[1]. Alsop was both the conductor of the 2022 final and the chair of the jury, and the tears she shed after conducting that round spread online and kept drawing attention ^[1].

🗓️ Dates Not to Miss!

7-8: Seoul Arts Center
9: Lotte Concert Hall
11: Documentary 'Marin Alsop' opens in Korea 🎬 ^[1]

The Philadelphia Orchestra welcomed Rachmaninoff warmly during his long exile after the 1917 Russian Revolution, so the connection feels even deeper. Five of the six works Rachmaninoff composed in his later years were world-premiered by the orchestra, and Korean-born members hold key positions, including concertmaster David Kim, associate concertmaster Juliet Kang, and principal viola Jang Jung-jin ^[1].

🎺 Sungshin Women's University 90th Anniversary Special Concert

News also arrived of the 'Sungshin Wind Orchestra Special Concert with the Local Community' at Lotte Concert Hall, celebrating Sungshin Women's University's 90th anniversary. Organized by the Instrumental Music Department of the university's College of Music, it was described as an occasion to look back on 90 years of history and share classical music culture with the local community 🥳 ^[2]

🎹 Moonlight Sonata at a Department Store?!

On the piano displayed on the 2nd floor of The Hyundai Seoul, pianist Kim Do-hyun played the third movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, surprising shoppers 😲 As the 'Daily Busking' video title puts it, the fast passages drew attention ^[3]. Hearing Moonlight in such an unexpected place sounds like something that would make passersby stop in their tracks 🎶

Another week of pure musical bliss! We'll be back next week with more exciting news 💜

📰 Reference News (2)

Lim Yun-chan Recreates the Moment of His 4-Year-Old Victory with the Philadelphia Orchestra

네이버뉴스 · 2026.11.07

📰 View original

Sungshin Women's University 90th Anniversary Special Concert

네이버뉴스 · 2026.11.06