Lim Yunchan named artist in residence for 2025 TIMF

Pianist Lim Yunchan speaks at a press conference on Nov. 28, 2022, at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei in Seoul. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald)

South Korean piano sensation Lim Yunchan, the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, has been named artist in residence for next year’s Tongyeong International Music Festival, one of South Korea's most celebrated music festivals which is held annually in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.

The 20-year-old pianist, recently honored with the Gramophone Classical Music Awards prize in the piano category and named its young artist of the year, will join another artist in residence, Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrandez. Together, they are set to perform at multiple concerts throughout the annual spring festival. The weeklong festival on the southern coast offers a wide range of programs from orchestral performances, solo recitals and chamber music to interdisciplinary productions that merge music with other art forms. Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen will serve as the composer-in-residence.

Next year’s festival is tentatively set to take place from March 28 to April 6, with the theme “Journey Inwards," according to the organizer.

Lim holds a unique place in the history of the Tongyeong International Music Festival, where, at just 15, he became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Isangyun Competition in 2019.

Established in 2003 to honor the legacy of Korean composer Isang Yun, the competition is organized by the Tongyeong International Music Festival Foundation.

Born in 1991 in Madrid, Ferrandez is a highly regarded cellist, gaining international acclaim after winning several prestigious awards, including the International Paulo Cello Competition and the Prix Nicolas Firmenich at the Verbier Festival.

The 2024 artist in residence are violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Kim Sun-wook.

The festival is led by the renowned composer Chin Unsuk, the first Asian to win the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize. She began a five-year term as artistic director of TIMF in 2022.