"Today is the 88th birthday if Van Cliburn (1934-2013) was alive. Sharing a video of Yun-chan Lim, a gold medalist at the 2022 Competition, performing one of Van Cliburn's main repertoires, the Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3 , I think it's the best way to celebrate today."
This article was posted on the website of the Cliburn Foundation on the 12th.
The video of Yoon-chan Lim's final performance shared by the foundation (shortcut) surpassed 5 million views in 4 weeks, and it also has the record for the most views among videos of this song playing on YouTube.
Yunchan Lim was recently selected as one of the '30 Classic Rising Stars Under 30' announced by Classic FM in the UK.
It has been a month since the contest ended, but his interest in Lim Yun-Chan does not fade.
I also wrote a lot of articles about this Van Cliburn Competition.
Not only broadcast news, but also text articles, audio, and video content in various formats such as Lim Yun-chan's local press conference, teacher Sohn Min-su's story, and the story of the conductor Marine Alsopp who said that 'The Rachmaninov Concerto No. 3 with Lim Yun-chan was the highlight of my musical life'. told the back.
I've been covering music for quite some time, but this is the first time I've written so many articles about a contest.
(When Seong-Jin Cho won the Chopin Competition, there was a lot of interest in Korea, but I was training abroad at the time.)
Even though we talked about the competition a lot, there were things that I had not finished yet.
This Van Cliburn Competition was truly an important competition that will go down in history in many ways.
So, we invited Ji-Young Lee, the editor of Club Balcony and a member of the Daewon Cultural Foundation, as a guest to the podcast curtain call and shared the 'concours chatter'.
Based on the podcast (▶shortcut), I have summarized the stories that I have not been able to do before.
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(*'Kim' refers to Kim Soo-hyun, 'Lee' refers to Lee Ji-young. The podcast remarks are abbreviated. Podcast Curtain Call (▶Shortcut) is one of the SBS newsroom newsroom series that deals with performing arts. Announcer Lee Byung-hee will host and I will make regular appearances every week, and I will be in charge of guest recruitment and planning. Without a set script or time limit, I invite guests from various fields every week to 'talk' together.)
The genealogy of 'genius 10-year cycle theory' and 'domesticism'
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Kim: The '10-year genius period theory' that leads to Lim Dong-hyeok (1984), Seong-jin Seong (1994) and Lim Yun-chan (2004) was a joke among people in the music industry, and it even appeared in the article.
Lee: About 20 years have passed since Lim Dong-hyuk, but if it was like 'we could go to a competition like that' in the past, it was at the time of Lim Dong-hyuk (joint 3rd with Lim Dong-min of the 2005 Chopin Competition. I woke up, and Seong-Jin Seong (who won the Chopin Competition in 2015) showed a Korean performer going to the top.
And now it doesn't matter which contest it is, and a performer like Im Yoon-chan, who can be recognized by anyone just looking at it, has appeared.
The fact that Lim Yun-chan won as a 'domestic' with no experience in studying abroad became a topic of discussion, and from this point of view, it seems that a domestic lineage from Son Yeol-eum to Kim Seon-wook and Lim Yun-chan can be established.
All of them grew up within the system of the Korea National University of Arts and won famous international competitions.
Kim: Kim Seon-wook also became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Leeds Competition in England in 2006 when he was 18 years old while attending Han Ye-jong.
There are similarities with Lim Yun-chan's current situation.
At that time, there were a lot of articles and interest was high.
But there was no YouTube at the time.
It was said that Kim Seon-wook won first place in the Leeds Competition, but it was difficult for the general public to know what kind of performance he actually performed.
( ▶When Kim Seon-wook won the Leeds Competition in 2006, watch SBS8 News. There was no video of the contest performance, so I used the material screen shot during the performance held in Korea before Kim Seon-wook participated in the Leeds Competition.)
However, at the Van Cliburn Competition, not only Lim Yun-chan, but also the performances of other contestants were broadcast live, and you can still find them at any time.
Since all major competitions these days are open to the general public in this way, the atmosphere has definitely changed from before.
Lee: Now, without relying on the authority of the competition or the words of any critic, everyone can share their feelings in a state where everyone can see the same, so it is very different from the era when the authority of the competition was absolute.
It seems to have changed from the concept that something can only be done by winning a prize in a competition.
As the pandemic passed, the influence of the media called YouTube grew, and Lim Yun-chan's performance came out in a state that anyone could see.
Even if it didn't win the contest, the industry's response was already hot.
It is said that all of the famous overseas concert venues have contacted them.
Times have changed, and so is the emergence of great people.
Van Cliburn, the power of music beyond politics
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Kim: Did you take care of all the schedules for this contest?
Lee: I didn't see all of them, but only the last final performance.
However, since all the performances of the contest had already been released, I was able to see more of the buzz of the people around me.
In the past, people only saw the results of the contest, but now people talk about their opinions and other performers who have appeared with them.
Also, it can be said that the Van Cliburn Competition started with a story about music and politics. Coincidentally, a Russian player and a Ukrainian player placed third in this competition.
Wasn't Van Cliburn the winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition during the Cold War?
This competition allowed Russian musicians to participate, saying that all participants were equal in front of art, and the results were good.
It was a contest with many interesting issues.
Kim: I watched the awards ceremony live all the time, and it started with the national anthem of Ukraine.
It was performed by the 13th winner of the competition, Vadim Kolodenko, a musician from Ukraine.
It was a very solemn atmosphere, and it clearly showed that both the contest participants and the audience were in solidarity with the Ukrainians.
Nevertheless, the competition opened its doors to Russian musicians not directly involved in the war.
When announcing the winners, the scene where the Ukrainian musicians who were named 3rd and on the podium greeted the 2nd-placed Russian musicians and congratulated each other was very symbolic.
(▶View the awards ceremony)
TV news has already reported on the meaning of the awards awarded by musicians from two countries at war, the Ukrainian national anthem that rang at the awards ceremony.
However, I had no choice but to mention briefly because I was mainly dealing with Lim Yun-chan's victory, and it was regrettable that I did not have the opportunity to go into more detail because I continued to write articles related to Lim Yun-chan.
(*So I'm recording a podcast, and I'm writing this coverage file) The
Russian boycott atmosphere prevailed and Russian musicians were banned from participating in other competitions, but the Van Cliburn Competition allowed Russian musicians to participate.
Van Cliburn, which the contest honors, is someone who showed the power of art beyond international politics.
He went to and won the 1st Tchaikovsky Competition (1958) in Russia (former Soviet Union), which was the heart of the enemy line for Americans during the Cold War.
In fact, then he wouldn't have wanted to give an American prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition.
(*The former Soviet Union was leading the West in science and technology as well as in culture and arts, such as the successful launch of the world's first artificial satellite at the time. However, at the Tchaikovsky Competition, which the Soviet Union established to show off its cultural superiority to the West, an American musician, not a native, was Van Cliburn learned from a Russian teacher at the Juilliard at the age of 23 at the time of the championship. The former Soviet audience was enthusiastic about Van Cliburn's performance, and the judges unanimously decided him as the winner. It wasn't just art. When he returned home, a welcome car parade was held in New York, and the whole United States was thrilled. He was a hero who raised the pride of the American people.)
Lee: So, it is said that the Soviet secretary at the time reconfirmed to the judges, 'Is that American really number one?'
At that time, the former Soviet Union could be said to be the most culturally powerful not only in music but also in ballet, but the Americans came and destroyed that pride culturally and silently.
In America, we can't help but honor this man.
Just as there is a contest in honor of Sang Yoon in Korea, this contest was created in 1962 to commemorate Van Cliburn's victory in the Tchaikovsky Competition in the United States, who planted a flag on the enemy line.
However, even in the future, it seems that this year will be recorded as the year that caused the most sensation in the history of this competition.
Ukrainian and Russian contestants at war also participated and won the award, and in the midst of this, the championship went to Yun-chan Lim, the youngest Korean contestant.
Russian and Ukrainian musicians meet at competition
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Kim: The Van Cliburn Competition has been an important competition before, but it has never received as much attention as this year.
Russian musician Anna Genyu Shene, who took second place this time, is already an active pianist, and the fact that she participated while she was 6 months pregnant also became a topic of discussion.
She was Anna, she played Brahms' ballad, and in the quarterfinals, she wore a flower pattern embroidered dress that was different from her usual performance attire, which was the traditional Ukrainian costume 'Vishvanka'.
In that way, she expressed her solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
In this contest, there were many scenes that symbolically show that we can be together through music on stage, although wars are fought and sharp conflicts exist in reality.
* Anna Genyu Shene told her New York Times and her interview that when she played the Brahms ballad, she recalled the sufferings of the Ukrainians.
He studied in Russia and England, and her husband, Alex Genusus, is also a famous pianist.
Following the outbreak of the Ukrainian War, Anna and her family left Russia and moved to Lithuania, where her husband had citizenship.
She said she said she would not return to Russia until the war was over, and that her actions revealed her own thoughts more clearly than her words.
She also said that it is outdated to see contestants as nationals.
“When we go on stage, we represent different schools of music. We are not athletes. We are not supported by the government. We are freelance musicians.”
(▶Source Dallas Morning News)
Dmitro Chony, the only Ukrainian contestant who took third place, studied at the Kiiu Conservatory.
As he went on stage during the preliminary rounds of the Van Cliburn Competition, someone from the audience shouted 'Glory to Ukraine!'
The video of his performance was followed by comments supporting Ukraine wearing the Ukrainian flag emoji.
According to a New York Times article, Dmitry Chony was even more burdened as the only Ukrainian contestant.
However, he was greatly encouraged by the support of the audience and his music colleagues.
He often played songs by Ukrainian composers in preparation for the Klavon Competition, thinking about his hometown.
Ukrainians must have taken great comfort in Dmitro Chony's performance.
He said he hoped that music could play a healing role in dark times.
"The goal is to connect people's hearts and provide a kind of comfort. Music can be a healing agent. Music has always been, but especially in this day and age." (▶Source The New York Times)
What does a competition mean to a performer?
Kim: There is an atmosphere where winning a contest is like winning an Olympic gold medal.
Of course, each individual participates in the competition, but there is no lack of feeling like a national competition.
But isn't the competition different from the Olympics?
I wish I had a story like that.
Lee: The Olympics end there when the results come out, but in the competitions, when the results come out and the rankings come out, that becomes the 'starting point' for the performers.
In fact, many of our favorite pianists are unrelated to the competition.
There are people like Pyotr Anderszewski who signed a contract with a famous record label even though he could not make it to the finals of the contest, but Yuja Wang, who captivated the audience at a recital in Korea not long ago, did not become famous at the contest.
* Polish pianist Pyotr Anderszewski is famous for participating in the Leeds Competition in England in 1990 but quitting and leaving the concert.
In the semifinals, he shocked the judges and the audience with his overwhelming performance of Beethoven's 'Diabelli Variations'.
However, while playing the next song, Webern's Variations, he stopped playing with a dissatisfied expression and left the stage, leaving people who were surprised because they did not know the English language.
He said, "I didn't like the performance and I couldn't forgive myself for continuing to play like that."
Although he is the protagonist of a scandal in which he was sent off while performing at the competition, he overtook the winners and became a star born of this competition.
That's because the 'Diabelli performance' he played left a strong and overwhelming impression.
Lee: Speaking of Lang Lang and Yuja Wang from China, let's talk about Yundi Li, a Chinese pianist who showed disappointment even after winning the competition.
Yun Di Li studied only in China and surprised her world by winning the Chopin Competition in 2000.
She rose to prominence in an instant, but by the time her second album came out, she was shaken by her fame and seemed unable to focus on music.
Recently, he was arrested by the police for various unfortunate incidents, and it seems difficult to recover.
It is not necessary to attach absolute meaning to winning the contest.
However, the reason why the contest is still important is that it is a place to showcase good performers to the world.
It is difficult for people to know all of the countless pianists.
However, if you say that you have won a prize in a good competition where the authoritative judges evaluate your performances in various ways, you are creating an opportunity to pay attention to the performer.
In fact, some people wonder why Lim Yun-chan didn't participate in the Chopin Competition or the Queen Elizabeth Competition, but for Lim Yun-chan, the competition no longer means anything.
The classical music world starts planning performances two or three years ago, and it is expected that within three years, Lim Yun-chan will perform on all major stages around the world.
After Seong-Jin Cho won the Chopin Competition, he signed a record contract with Deutsche Grammophon and performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker.
However, you can see what the competition means to the performer from another aspect.
Violinist Inmo Yang, who won the Paganini Competition in 2015, recently participated and won the Sibelius Competition.
Yang In-mo is already an active performer abroad and has already released some great albums, and he has participated in the competition again.
Yang In-mo is studying in Berlin, and it is said that his teacher encouraged him to go to a competition.
The reason people who are already active as performers go to the competition is to not slow down the tension as a performer.
As a performer, he or she may fall into mannerism or become lazy, but he said that he wanted to be stimulated by participating in a contest about how other performers are performing and what ingenious ideas they have.
Yang In-mo said that while preparing for the competition, he felt his bloody tension for a long time.
What else can I achieve through this, and how can I interpret a modern song to be performed in a competition in a few months?
He is said to have been seriously contemplating.
Just as a manuscript needs a deadline to be written and an exam to study before an exam approaches, I sympathized with the idea that such a stimulus is needed for performers in everyday life as well.
This time, the Russian player Anna Genyu Shene, who won second place in the Van Klaa Competition this time, is a pianist who is already actively performing on the world stage.
Kim: The contest itself is a form of continuous performance.
The process of composing one's own recital program and putting it on stage continues, and in the finals, he performs with an orchestra, and a competition is also a place to gain various stage experiences.
The performers simply have to win awards and make my name known.
Yunchan Lim himself continued to talk about it, but he said he never thought about the award for a moment, and just participated in the contest hoping that my music would deepen, and that he wanted to share my music with more people because many people around the world saw the contest.
(Continued to part 2)