Biography
HJ Lim completed her recording of Beethoven’s full piano sonata cycle in 2011 at age 24, positioning her as notably younger than most pianists who reserve this vast undertaking for later stages of their careers. She also counted among the earliest classical artists to harness the internet for building an audience, an effort that directly yielded contracts for standard recordings and concert tours.
Lim has described acquiring the ability to read and write music ahead of mastering written Korean. At twelve she chose on her own to leave South Korea for France to continue her training, studying there with Marc Hoppeler and Henri Barda. She began posting performance videos on YouTube so her parents could follow her progress, a tactic shared by many pianists of that period, and quickly attracted listeners; a 2009 clip of Flight of the Bumblebee surpassed half a million views. Not until 2013 did she give a public recital in her native country.
After exhaustive preparation that encompassed the scores as well as their historical and cultural contexts, she presented the Beethoven sonatas in a series of Paris recitals in 2010 before committing them to disc. She applied the same approach to the complete works of Ravel and Chopin. EMI Classics signed her and released the Beethoven set first in digital format to reach younger listeners, issuing the boxed set afterward. The recording entered at number one on multiple classical charts, including iTunes. Lim has since performed numerous technically demanding works by Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin.
Following the Beethoven project she has appeared with major orchestras and given recitals throughout Europe, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and São Paulo, among other cities. Her second EMI release, issued in 2013, contains music by Ravel and Scriabin. In 2016 she published the book Le son du Silence (The Sound of Silence), which recounts her years as a foreign student in France and sets forth her musical philosophy.
Lim has described acquiring the ability to read and write music ahead of mastering written Korean. At twelve she chose on her own to leave South Korea for France to continue her training, studying there with Marc Hoppeler and Henri Barda. She began posting performance videos on YouTube so her parents could follow her progress, a tactic shared by many pianists of that period, and quickly attracted listeners; a 2009 clip of Flight of the Bumblebee surpassed half a million views. Not until 2013 did she give a public recital in her native country.
After exhaustive preparation that encompassed the scores as well as their historical and cultural contexts, she presented the Beethoven sonatas in a series of Paris recitals in 2010 before committing them to disc. She applied the same approach to the complete works of Ravel and Chopin. EMI Classics signed her and released the Beethoven set first in digital format to reach younger listeners, issuing the boxed set afterward. The recording entered at number one on multiple classical charts, including iTunes. Lim has since performed numerous technically demanding works by Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin.
Following the Beethoven project she has appeared with major orchestras and given recitals throughout Europe, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and São Paulo, among other cities. Her second EMI release, issued in 2013, contains music by Ravel and Scriabin. In 2016 she published the book Le son du Silence (The Sound of Silence), which recounts her years as a foreign student in France and sets forth her musical philosophy.
Albums
