Dong-Hyek Lim
Dong-Hyek Lim |
|---|
| Dong-Hyek Lim | |
| Hangul | 임동혁 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Im Dong(-)hyeok |
| McCune–Reischauer | Im Dong-hyŏk |
Dong-Hyek Lim (born July 25 1984 in Seoul) is a young South Korean classical pianist. Lim made a controversial headline by refusing to accept the third prize at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels in 2003. Lim currently studies with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule fur Musik in Hanover in Germany, and receives the Samsung Culture Scholarship and the Ezoe Scholarship.
Childhood
Lim first began to study piano at the age of seven, following in the footsteps of his elder brother Dong-Min Lim, who is also an acclaimed young pianist. He won the Grand Prix at the Hanguk Daily Newspaper Competition and was chosen the year's best young pianist by the Korean Children Association at the age of nine. In 1994, he moved to Moscow to study at the Moscow Central Music School. He graduated in 1998 and became the youngest student in the history of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and continued his studies there with Professor Lev Naumov. At age 11, he gave a recital attended by the orthodox Patriarch Alexius II and performed in front of the Russian President Boris Yeltsin at the age of 12.
Awards
Lim has received top awards at various competitions. In September 1996, he captured international attention by winning the second prize at the Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Moscow as the youngest participant of that year (his elder brother Dong-Min Lim tied for the first prize). In 2000, Lim took the fifth prize at the International Busoni Piano Competition in Italy, which later became known as 'Busoni Shock' (the entire juries were replaced for the next year's competition). He went on to win the second prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan later that year. In December 2001, not only did he become the youngest winner of the Premier Grand Prix in the history of the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris, but also he won five other special awards. In October 2005, Lim participated in the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and, for the first time in the history of Korea, took the third prize, tied with his elder brother Dong-Min Lim (no second prize was awarded). In June 2007, Lim participated in the 13th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, shared fourth prize with Sergei Sobolev (no first prize was awarded).
Performing and recording career
Lim’s performances at the Small and Great Halls of the Moscow State Conservatory, Salle Pleyel and Salle Cortot in Paris, the Lazienski Palace in Warsaw, the Konzerthaus in Berlin and with Martha Argerich at the Philharmonic Hall in Beppu, Japan, have met with great acclaim. Lim has also appeared in many renowned festivals, including Verbier in Switzerland, Klavier-Festival Ruhr in Germany, the 57th International Chopin Festival in Poland, Montpellier Radio France and Piano aux Jacobins Festivals in France.
His 2002 season featured appearances with NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and New Japan Philharmonic at Suntory Hall under conductors Charles Dutoit, Myung-Whun Chung, among others, and recitals at the Auditorium du Louvre, Hong Kong City Hall, Martha Argerich’s Festival in Lugano. Highlights of his 2003 season include performances with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under Yuri Temirkanov, and a return visit to the New Japan Philharmonic at Suntory Hall.
In May 2001, Lim became the youngest pianist ever to make a recording contract with EMI Classics and received the Diapason d'or award in France for his debut album of Chopin, Schubert, and Ravel under the "Martha Argerich Presents" series, released in June 2002. His second recording for EMI, featuring Chopin's B minor Sonata and other minor works, released in 2004, was awarded the Choc Prize by Le Monde de la Musique.