Who is Yunchan Lim, and more to the point, who let him out of his cage?

Wow, I mean WOW, this has got to be the most impressive debut recording I've ever heard. At the time of this recording's production, South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim was only 19 years old, and yet performs these insuperable peaks of the classical piano repertoire with profound emotional maturity and technical exuberance rarely unleashed by even some of the most well-seasoned musicians. Not only did Chopin make these pieces technically demanding, he incorporated within each and every one of them deeply emotive sentiments, imagery and themes at times monumental. Aspects sorely missed by many pianists focused only on technical clarity. But Yunchan Lim, and this is where the "cage" reference applies, manages to reveal their expressive core and emotional outbursts, at times with aggressive ferocity. Sometimes over the top, but nonetheless interpretations powerful enough to induce goosebumps or some sort of emotional reaction on your part.

Prime examples of this are the Op. 10, No. 12, Allegro con fuoco (Revolutionary) which Lim unleashes with the utmost anger and fury, or better yet, my favorite Étude, which I tried to learn but gave up out of fear of going bald from tearing my hair out, the final Op. 25, No. 12, Allegro molto con fuoco where he clearly delineates its epic theme wrapped within tidal wave after tidal wave of notes. His poetic perceptions of each and every Étude are well described in the booklet notes which he closes by saying: "Ultimately, though, all those images remain mutable. These imaginings have helped my interpretations, but they change every day. I'm sure that tomorrow I'll have other ideas!"