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Where to hear Cho Seong-jin, Lim Yun-chan live in Korea in 2026
Pianist Seong-jin Cho performs at Seoul Arts Center on July 5, 2023. Courtesy of Credia Music & Artists
By Kim Se-jeong
Two of Korea’s biggest classical music stars, Cho Seong-jin and Lim Yun-chan, are poised to headline a stellar lineup of concerts in 2026, giving Korean audiences a rare opportunity to hear both pianists in solo recitals, chamber performances and accompanied by some of the world’s leading orchestras.
For Cho, 2026 will be a particularly notable year, as Lotte Concert Hall named him one of its in-house artists this week. Cho, who in 2015 became the first Korean to win the International Chopin Piano Competition, is currently a resident artist with the Berlin Philharmonic.
Cho is scheduled to appear twice at Lotte Concert Hall in southern Seoul in July, performing in a chamber concert on July 14 and a solo recital on July 19. At the chamber concert, he will share the stage with violinist and Berlin Philharmonic first concertmaster Daishin Kashimoto, principal clarinetist Wenzel Fuchs, principal horn player Stefan Dohr and violist Kyoungmin Park.
At his solo recital, Cho will perform Bach’s Partita No. 1, Schoenberg’s Piano Suite, Schumann’s Carnival Jest from Vienna and Chopin’s 14 Waltzes.
On May 5 and 6, he will collaborate with the Munich Philharmonic at Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall. Founded in 1893, the Munich Philharmonic is renowned for its interpretations of works by German composers such as Wagner, Brahms, Beethoven and Schumann. The orchestra will be led by Lahav Shani, a pianist who is set to become chief conductor in September 2026.
Pianist Yun-chan Lim performs during a concert at Tongyeong International Music Festival on March 29. Courtesy of Vincero
Lim, who rose to stardom after winning the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will return as a soloist in a concert with maestro Myung-whun Chung and the Staatskapelle Dresden at Seoul Arts Center on Feb. 1. He will perform Schumann’s Piano Concerto, along with other pieces.
Lim will also give piano recitals at Lotte Concert Hall on May 6 and Seoul Arts Center on May 12. On June 15, he will join the Austrian chamber ensemble Camerata Salzburg for a Mozart concert. The project will also feature Masaaki Suzuki, principal conductor of Bach Collegium Japan, and Korean soprano Sunhae Im.
On Nov. 8, Lim is scheduled to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Seoul Arts Center under conductor Marin Alsop. Alsop and Lim collaborated in the final round of the 2022 Van Cliburn competition for a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3.