Yunchan Lim 임윤찬 LAUGHS in the face of Liszt's hardest piece (Feux follets)

The most impressive thing about this pianist is that he played ALL of them back to back without much decline in stamina. I can't imagine how good his professional recording of it will be.

Yunchan Lim is able to play this horribly technically complex piece in a so noble and musical way

He's literally insane. I watched the whole set and I probably left a dent on the floor due how many times my jaw dropped throughout.

This is what Yunchan said at the Van Cliburn press conference (the one with his teacher Sohn Minsoo, not word for word as my Korean sucks): “The name ‘Transcendental Etudes’ sounds threatening, but teacher Sohn emphasises in every lesson that Transcendental Etudes are not just to do with technical skills, but rather surpassing the technical difficulties. The moment musicality is reached again in the music is when it becomes transcendental.” - this is exactly what is magical about Yunchan’s Feux Follets. As a listener, you no longer carry the burden of technique and wondering if the pianist will stumble over his finger. But rather, an image of feux follets dancing and chasing each other in a dark forest emerges before your eyes. If this isn’t storytelling at its finest I don’t know what is! Thank you Yunchan and teacher Sohn for making me see Liszt’s genius!

He says he is comfortable playing Liszt's pieces. Because it is not difficult to understand. It means that technique is no longer a problem.

He was invited to play at my university and all seats were booked in 3 minutes. Very disappointed I couldn’t hear him play live

Liszt wrote this for people like Lim to play

He practiced this one more than any other before the semifinal recital. On this video the phrase starting at 1:59, he practiced it over and over and over in his typical fashion of recording himself on his phone and listening while playing it back. Ben, thanks so so much for this video. Very enlightening, amusing, and entertaining.

I know guys we're all cultural people with a lot of respect to words like "beauty" and other staff but seriously, Yunchan is fucking amazing beyond mind.

Yunchan said he considers Chopin op10 & op25 etudes more difficult for him for the reason it's harder to bring out its musicality than Listz's Trancendental etudes. Yunchan plans to showcase the entire 27 Chopin etudes during the upcoming Carnegie Hall debut recital in Feb '24. That will be another jaw dropping performance, I bet.

I didn't know of Feux Follets. I didn't know of Lim. But I'm glad the algorithm brought me here.

I cant imagine what he will be like in 10 years. The attention to detail in his interpretations is astonishing.

Yunchan is like a child and the piano for him is like a toy. When his hands peck on the piano with the etude in his mind, he enjoys it like a kid as if he was thinking "this is a fun toy".

According to what Yunchan Lim said in an interview on the radio, it took about 5 months to practice all Transcendental etudes. He said that he practiced No. 1, 4, and 5 first, because the longer and more times they practiced, the more it would help him to play perfectly. (According to another interview, out of those three pieces, he practiced No. 5 feux follet first.) After that, he practiced No. 9, 10, 11, 12, and then practiced No. 2, 3, and at the end he practiced No. 6, 7, 8. He said the last piece he practiced was No. 7 Eroica. And he practiced the etudes by matching one or two relatively easy pieces with one very difficult etude. Therefore, as it is feux follet, which is the first piece practiced and practiced the most, it shines even more and shows outstanding performance.

Damn bro, this is like a level 100 grandmaster pianist at work.
The speed. The stamina. The skill. Masterful. How can one person possess this amazing feat of beastliness?
Simply amazing.

How can anyone's fingers move with precision that fast? Absolutely incredible.
These composers, I'm convinced were sadists and wrote these pieces to torture musicians for an eternity.

My tendons scream to the sound of capricious spirits. What a player!

The most shocking part for me is that he is having fun, I don't think I've seen many in his shoes be having too much fun anymore

My goosebumps kid❤. Anytime I listen to him I tear up, I don’t know why.

Now I understood why Yunchan made those facial expressions! Your comparative analysis among pianists is so fun to know! Thanks and what if you were my music teacher at my school days? Haha

This was by far the funniest classical music educational documentary video I've ever watched in my life. We can all agree that Yunchan is a god-tier pianist, but I think this video editing was also easily a S-tier work. Great work!

I know nothing about these things and even I can tell that he was a: having and enjoying himself and b: that he understood the spirit of the tune he was playing and it came to life inside him as he played it. Too many other pianists just play the music. For this guy, the music comes to life in him when he understands it and he showed that he totally gets it.

Cannot believe he is still 18.

His performance is more palpable and catchy than any other performer.
It's more shiny,fresh and powerful.

I am so jealous of Yunchan's hair

The colors/sounds and storytelling he was able to make in this monster of a piece was so incredible at times i started laughing because i couldn't believe what i was hearing. Also him smiling during it just made it that much more special.

BRO HE'S 18💀☠

Guys, you just can't get tired of Yunchan Lim. The fk, he's only a teenager that can do all this for God's sake!
What was I doing at age 18...

Liszt was connected to an eternal realm where music emanates. This young man would have been a special student in the Weimar Meisterklassen in that little cottage. Van Cliburn would be beaming.

The technical ability aspect is always fun. But it's truly magic when that technical ability isn't flaunted needlessly but used as a tool of expression from someone who clearly understand the spirit and personality of the piece.

Yuanchan Lim, probably: Ah, finally a worthy challenger.

That was a blast. Thanks for the entertaining and informative video. I’m pretty crazy about Lim’s playing, and I liked very much hearing your take on his performance of Feux Freakin Follets.

I like No.8 wilde jadg for the same reason. There are various facial expressions of Yunchan, and the time to wipe off sweat impresses the audiences inexplicably. His expressions and movements are even beautiful in No.9 that follows.

What on earth did I just watch? Or rather, not on earth, it's out of this world!

Woe ... inCREDible and aMAZing😱 Thank you for this, Ben!

This is as much entertaining as informative. And I commend highly Ben for not being afraid of looking like a clown to enlighten earthlings like me. Your presentation is at once fun and educational.

It's miraculous for anyone to play that piece that well, but he's only 18! How's that possible? He's only just hatched, there shouldn't have been enough time to achive that kind of degree of perfection.

Thanks so much for this clip! It is really fun to watch and you picked my comment. What an honor! YunChan is a crazy genius and I really love everything of him. He gives me the full satisfaction. Everyday I am excited to listen to what he recreates.

I love your posts Ben. Yunchan simply makes me smile and you contribute to that appreciation by your insightful peering into enriching pianism.

I must say that the videos Mr. Laude produces about these jawdropping Yunchan-Liszt etudes are genuine masterpieces of their kind as well!
Thank you so much for putting them together, great editing, a judicious measure of humour and insight - and voilá, the fastest 17 minutes I've had in front of KRplus for a very long time.
The Goethe Faust-quotations that are put up alongside the opening measures of Feux Follets are pretty much a step-by-step description of what's going on in the music (or the other way around, I guess:), it's incredible how well it fits! Cheers for pointing it out, I'm 100% sold on the idea of Liszt drawing inspiration from Mephisto's independent-minded little helpers. Also, these videos make me appreciate even more how ludicrously brilliant Yunchan's interpretation of these etudes is - apart from the total technical command he truly has a deep understanding of the music of this set as well as the extramusical circumstances of its conception. It's beautiful.
Very much looking forward to the remaining installments of this monumental Yunchan-Liszt performance. What a wonderful time to be a piano nut!
Thanks again for making these videos!
(One tiny note: Cziffra is pronunced with a "ts" as in tsunami. And, somewhat aptly, his name means ornate/decorated/flashy in Hungarian.)

Everything he does is beyond miracle. Goosebumps everytime!

It’s an unbelievably perfect performance. Bravo!

Being able to play the notes... yeah that's pretty incredible. Being able to do that with a good dose of musicality require an overdose of genius. Being able to do both with a whimsical smile and such playful ease, well that's just beyond human!
The way he plays it doesn't even leave it sounding like an especially technical piece. It sounds like he could handle a kind of piece that no one has had enough distain for the mental health of pianists enough to compose yet.

Way to go Ben! This was both fun and educational…..not easy to achieve and I know it took a lot of work to put together.👏👏👏

I came here to watch the video, but am amazed at the praises that Yunchan unanimously receives in this reply section. He is obviously being loved!

Unbelievable Performance !!!!

OMG. Yunchan is out of this world. Unbelievable.

I'm not a pianist (okay I have a keyboard) but I'm so glad I found this video, and absolutely awestruck. Yunchan is an alien! I love how each pianist has their own style and syncopation.

Thank you for making this video … very enlightening and mesmerising… Need to see Yunchan Lim’s recital at Wigmore Hall now.

You have become my fav YT Channel. As simple as that. Gracias!

extraordinary performer....another of God's talents....Practice makes perfect too!

His performance is utterly awe-inspiring, it's amazing, it's so vivid. Man, it makes me want to try and learn piano again, I may be slow, but it's something in a strange beauty.

Absolutely amazing. The ending was unexpected. This young is a genius on the piano. Now that's a recording I would love to have! Thank you for sharing this.

Yunchan’s interpretations are just so incredible. We’ll be dissecting them forever. I’m most amazed at how unifying they are. In a genre where everyone is hypercritical regarding how a single note is played, he transcends the minutia to make us all happy.

고맙습니다. 톤 베이스! 오래 기다렸어요. 음악적 이해를 풍부하게 도와주셔서 감사합니다.

Yuncham Lim is Liszt in the present...

Your video, which is humorous and kind to me, is the Best Educational Material.
Thank you 10 million times.

Welcome welcome
I've been waiting for "Limst" part two for a long time

Yunchan's Feux is pretty mind-blowing indeed. I think most of the advice around the middle of the video revolves around one main theme: go light on the alto voice. And that is indeed the key to getting around that main material. Sadly, the toughest parts are some of the bits in the middle.

Pianoworld and other forums were my life back when I was in the conservatory. The fact that you were on there as well explains so much about this channel. Loving the content here, keep it up.

Lim Yunchan ... enough said! And this video was such fun, and I learnt so much, that I'm a new subscriber. Thank you.

톤베이스 언제봐도 흥미롭고 대단하세요 재치있으면서 중요욧점은 멋지게도 잘 꼬집어 짚어내주세요 그때 윤찬림의 절묘한표정은 그의 콩쿨 본 사람은 아마도 나처럼 다들 생생하게 기억할것 같네요 … 언제나 좋은영상 편집해 주셔서 감사드립니다👍💕

Movie Mozart's laughter is so contagious.

Aside from Lim's technicality, I am most impressed with his brilliant interpretation of all 12 etudes and its musicality in a way I have never heard before. Liszt must be smiling for his Transcental etudes getting its overdue recognition as a musical masterpiece, Finally.

Brilliant breakdown - worth the wait!

This was quite spectacular, not only did I learn about a piece of music I never heard before, but watched it being played exquisitely. Having you explain the historical context musically and including the Faust reference was also interesting. I had to look up Walpurgistnacht too. Loved how you included the witches dancing. Thanks for your insights and sharing this.

Very enjoyable documentary with good contrasts with other pianists.
If I may be permitted a nerdy French moment (I am from France), the Feux Follets (plural) can be found referenced in literature by the 9th Century. The most common description is of a small flame or a pale colored luminescence.
Science suggests this phenomena is due to matter decomposing in wet mud without oxygen. The decomposition produces methane which mixes with live bacteria and phosphor. When this mixture seeps up and out, it combusts for a few seconds as it encounters oxygen. Manifestations throughout history seem to always be in cemeteries and near water (swamps). Modern burial practices and civil engineering have caused these chemical reactions to become rather infrequent it seems.
Not to be confused with St. Elmo's fire which is of an electrical nature. From the Latin, we find the idea these are "fire spirits". Catholic superstition rendered these the troubled souls of deceased children or those having lost their way from death to paradise.

Omg I’ve been waiting for this to be uploaded!! thanks tonebase for uploading😚

Wow!!!so happy to see Mr laude and his tonebase piano video again

Wonderful artist! I'm sitting here, in Vienna, dreaming about how it was possible that giants like Franz Liszt, Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Salieri or Beethoven lived and created all these epic pieces right "around the corner"... and now I am watching a North American piano pro explaining how an East Asian prodigy interprets them. Cheers to humanity! 😊

The top of my amateur music career was to be able play the early version of this etude. Then I went with mathematics.
Great video as always.

Incredible skills. I wish we could hear Liszt playing his own compositions…

Greatest classical tube content on the net!

Two of my favorites, Yunchan and Ben, in one video.. Irresistible. 😆

This is fantastic content. Thank you!

FINALLY!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH👍

This man is a wizard😨

We need Liszt Beethoven or Rachmaninov to be alive to show us how you play with passion come on friends where's the passion I like Unchan

Ohhh, that was amazing ! Not only this outstanding performance but your video was really nice and I like your t-shirt a lot ! :) Thank you ! :)

ONE MILLION VIEWS! 😍🥳🥳🥳 CONGRATULATIONS!

❤ oh my word!!!! amazing, and all the right notes, and ALL THE EMOTION THAT GOES INTO THIS. AMAZING.. The best ever. !

Goose bumps at the witch dance section. Good materials u put together. A lot of respect for u

Thank you for your kind explanation!

Liszt was a piano God. His work is considered some of the most technically complex pieces of art ever made. Lim saw the challenge and decided to ABSOLUTELY MURDER IT ❤

Thank you so damn much!! Appreciate the effort and knowledge it takes for you to put this together and I know many of us have been waiting anxiously for your part two. You have made us happy today!! This young maestro has turned the classical jusic world on its head and boy is it exciting...and tonebase is vital in helping rookies such as I am to understand how extraordinary Yunchan's gift truly is.
May you bring more ....please 🙏

When they do the comparison with other pianists playing the same piece, it is true how amazingly clear Yunchan notes sound, perfectly separated, perfectly timed, and perfectly evident. It's like if it had been programmed using a robotic hand so that it would be 100% verified and tested to come out as wanted. It's like when in the Queen of the Night by Mozart everybody just focuses on checking if the soprano can hit the famous high note part, but they don't notice that the intro just before that part has a bunch of consecutive notes way more difficult than hitting the high note. You see some sopranos rolling them all over together in a mess that can be hardly discernible. I always look for that part to see who sung it right and who couldn't deal with it. The high note is BS, they all can do that.

He will be so excited to see videos and comments of these great experts evaluating his performance.

This is nice, unlike any other videos I’ve seen

Despite having like 700 different emotions during this entire video....i literally went insane..... Broo this is insane or am I insane ...NVm but HE IS LiTeRAlly so close to what I think people could have witnessed Liszt playing ❤. Speechless

This is so good, thank you Ben!

I don't even play piano but you explained everything so well

Ben, thanks for such an informative review.
This made even a lay person like myself appreciate Yunchan's performance.
Also I really enjoyed the reference to Faust and the witch dances.
It helped me understand/visualize the music better.

Great talent manifests itself early in life. Yuchan has made an astonishing contribution to music. It will be exciting to listen to his development.

Thank you for this incredibly fun and informative video Ben! 🥳 appreciate the effort that’s gone into the video for us to fully understand and appreciate Yunchan’s astounding performance of this etude 💜 can’t wait to see your analysis of the rest of the etudes!! (Personal favourite today (yep, preference shifts on a daily basis depending on mood haha) is Wilde jagd… esp the few last bars…. 🔥🥵)

I'm not sure about what impresses me the most, Yunchan Lim's interpretation or your take on it, I got so hooked by it. I'm so grateful my algorythm has finally found you. Thank you so much for this!

기다리던 영상...감사합니다..
너무너무 자랑스러운 리스트 윤찬.
음악속에서 즐기지 않고서는 저런 퍼포먼스는 나올 수 없겠죠.

MESMERISING

Can't wait for next episode of this series!

Loving this series! Excited for more :D

It brings me great and unbridled joy that this video has been viewed over 600 thousand times. It means more and more people can start appreciating this music more deeply. This video and others by other social media personalities have been helping create a new culture around classical music that, I think, will provide both the fundamental basis and social fuel for new generations of listeners and performers.