Transcript:
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Now, here's a music performance that made history.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF RACHMANINOFF'S "PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3")
SUMMERS: This supercharged playing clenched the gold medal for Yunchan Lim, the youngest ever to win the Van Cliburn piano competition in 2022. He was only 18. Now the South Korean has a new Tchaikovsky album. Our reviewer, NPR's Tom Huizenga, says it raises lesser appreciated music to new heights.
TOM HUIZENGA, BYLINE: Let's be honest, "The Seasons" is not top-shelf Tchaikovsky. It's a set of 12 mid-tempo miniatures with descriptive titles, one for each month of the year in chronological order.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "JANUARY: AT THE FIRESIDE")
HUIZENGA: That's how "The Seasons" starts, cozied up to a crackling fire in the month of January. But for Yunchan Lim, that fire isn't blazing. It's fizzling out. Lim has made up a storyline for the cycle. He sees it as the final sombre year in an old man's life. But let's move on to February, carnival time.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "FEBRUARY: CARNIVAL")
HUIZENGA: Whether you buy Lim's narrative or not, this album is evidence of his swelling romanticism. Lim has said, I have made up my mind. I will live my life only for the sake of music. Sounds like something the heart-on-sleeve Tchaikovsky himself might say.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "MARCH: SONG OF THE LARK")
HUIZENGA: And we're at the month of March, which offers some of Lim's best playing - ethereal, as if improvised, almost jazz.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "MARCH: SONG OF THE LARK")
HUIZENGA: Tchaikovsky's "Seasons" contain something of a hit single. It's the month of June, one of the composer's most wistful and beautiful melodies.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "JUNE: BARCAROLLE")
HUIZENGA: Here's a moment to get molecular, to hear the Yunchan Lim difference. Let's compare how another pianist plays the opening phrase of June. Pavel Kolesnikov seems to measure each note with a ruler to make sure they're equidistant.
(SOUNDBITE OF PAVEL KOLESNIKOV PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "JUNE: BARCAROLLE")
HUIZENGA: Now hear Lim. His subtle rhythmic hesitations and delicate dynamics deliver an extra emotional tug.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "JUNE: BARCAROLLE")
HUIZENGA: Lim is only 21, but he plays like an old soul. Here, in the month of October, his featherlight touch intertwines a pair of heartbreaking melodies.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "OCTOBER: AUTUMN SONG")
HUIZENGA: Tchaikovsky's cycle concludes at Christmas, and Lim's old man is filled with regret. But you can't tell by this sweet waltz.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "DECEMBER: CHRISTMAS")
HUIZENGA: In the end, Lim's storyline might not add up, but does it matter? The poetry of his performances has transformed these ordinary pieces into something extraordinary, and I've changed my mind about Tchaikovsky's "Seasons."
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "DECEMBER: CHRISTMAS")
SUMMERS: The album is "The Seasons" by Yunchan Lim, and our reviewer is NPR's Tom Huizenga.
(SOUNDBITE OF YUNCHAN LIM PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "DECEMBER: CHRISTMAS")
