2025년 4월 25일, 뉴욕의 카네기 홀에서 피아니스트 임윤찬이 다시 한 번 무대에 올랐습니다. 그는 2024년 뉴욕 타임즈가 선정한 "최고의 공연" 이후 돌아온 이번 무대에서 바흐의 '골드베르크 변주곡'을 연주했습니다. 음악과 고요함, 해석과 존재가 교차하는 21세기 청년의 외로운 순례가 담긴 공연이었습니다. 이제 아래에서 하나씩 확인해보겠습니다.

Lim Yun-chan Plays Bach’s Silence – 2025 Carnegie Hall Goldberg Variations Recital

April 25, 2025, Carnegie Hall, New York. Pianist Lim Yun-chan took the stage once again. Following his Carnegie Hall debut, which was selected by The New York Times as “the best performance of 2024,” he returned this time with Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’. This was not just a simple return, but a lonely pilgrimage of a 21st-century youth where music and silence, interpretation and existence intersected.

From Aria to Aria, Silence Deeper than Resonance

Lim Yun-chan Bach Silence Performance Carnegie Hall Piano Classical

Before starting his performance, Lim Yun-chan sat in silence for a long time with his hands on his knees. At the moment when the audience’s tension and anticipation peaked, the first note of the ‘Aria’ flowed out. It was neither fast nor slow, simply a posture of listening to the structure and flow of the piece. His performance, conscious of the overall flow rather than the details, remained consistent throughout the variations.

Variations, Designing the Aesthetics of Disappearance

Rather than connecting the variations like a line, Lim Yun-chan expanded them like a surface. The 3rd to 6th variations were interpreted with a blurred tone, as if colored pencils had been smudged, while the 13th variation spread out like the fog of dawn, with a slower perceived tempo. In the 15th minor variation, the invisible texture of sorrow filled the stage, and the last note was played as if it were almost disappearing. That resonance soon became the art of stillness.

25th Minor Variation: Reunion with the Sorrow of Memory

In the climactic 25th variation of the latter half, Lim Yun-chan sang of familiar melancholy with minimal touch. The calm melody resonated as if flowing somewhere, leaving an impression of existence yet disappearance. The following 26th to 29th variations gradually built energy like waves surging in.

30th Variation and Absolute Silence

In the 30th variation ‘Quodlibet’, Lim Yun-chan let go of all tension and strictness, concluding the finale flexibly. Returning to the Aria da Capo, he completed the journey. After the performance ended, he paused with his hands on the keys, and the audience responded with complete silence. This was the most intense moment of the day.

Lim Yun-chan Bach Silence Performance Carnegie Hall Piano Classical

Encore, A Single Note

After seven curtain calls, he sat back at the piano. Then, he quietly pressed only the bass line of the Aria. This encore, lasting less than a minute, was like a reflection, a final gift leaving the essence of Bach with the audience and a hint of a new beginning.