Yunchan Lim’s first two discs for Decca – Chopin: Études Op 10 and Op 25, and Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No 3 – were understandably chosen to showcase the technical brilliance and musical intelligence that had made the Korean pianist such an exceptional winner of the 2022 Van Cliburn competition in Fort Worth, Texas. But now, it seems, Lim feels it is time to reveal a more expressive, intimate side to his playing, and indeed it’s hard to imagine anything more different from the Chopin and Rachmaninov than Tchaikovsky’s suite The Seasons.
Begun immediately after the premiere of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto and composed in parallel with his ballet Swan Lake, the series of 12 miniatures that make up The Seasons were commissioned by a magazine, and published monthly through 1876. They were intended to be played by amateurs, and the technical demands most of them make are modest. But their charm and lyric beauty have made them a popular part of many concert pianists’ repertory, whether as encore pieces or played as a selection in a recital.
