Yunchan Lim - Bach: Goldberg Variations
(Decca, 2026)
We could see the release of Yunchan Lim’s Goldberg Variations performance recorded at Carnegie Hall, Friday, April 25, 2025, a light-year ahead of its February 2026 release date. So prevalent were the social media advertisements, proclaiming the performance “phenomenal,” “iconic,” “a historic event.” That is so much sunshine blown up the 21-year-old’s backside that his face should shine like Moses’ descending Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments.
Can this recording be all that?
Yes, and no.
This is an excellent recording entering a market clotted with excellent Goldberg performances. There are so goddamn many Goldberg Variations recordings existing that a poor performance or recording would never make it to a major label. It’s like that adage about pizza and sex—even the worst one has is still pretty good.
Teeming with measured and untethered articulation at once, Lim’s Goldbergs are a satisfying listen. It’s Bach. No more needs saying or inferring. The beauty of Bach is inherent to Bach’s music and not necessarily in its performance. New recordings reveal little that hasn't already shown us, though varied performances are certainly welcome. Bach stands, as himself, on his own terms. Period.
It is worthwhile to consider Goldberg Variations recordings with the aperture widened. Lim performs the music on a modern piano. The modern piano Bach began with Glenn Gould and his Goldbergs (Columbia, 1955 and CBS Masterworks, 1981) are a great place to start. Get a snootful of these performances and then move on to Wilhelm Kempff’s 1970 Deutsche Grammophon set, which has been described as,
…a marked exception. Among the hundreds of unremarkable and homogenous recordings of Bach’s legendary keyboard cycle, this one belongs to a select group of interpretations which are radically different. In fact, in terms of its potential to split the audience right down the middle, it is second only to Glenn Gould’s performances of the piece – people generally rank this either as their favourite or their most despised rendition1.
Kempff’s opening Aria is jarring and not for the faint of heart. His performance is workman like. Kempff was not cowed to the point of apoplexy by Bach, rather he sat down and performed the variations as a piano piece. Both Bach and the pianist shine in the performance.
What I consider the finest recording is Murray Perahia’s 2000 Sony Classical performance. Perahia added water to his Bach to open it up, and it opened perfectly. Listen to this and move on to Lim’s fine performance so one can know the difference between “great” and “exceptional.”
Fischer, Tobias. “15 Questions | Interview | Wilhelm Kempff | Tobias Fischer about an Album Whose Beauty Turned into an Object of Hate.” 15questions.net, 2026. https://www.15questions.net/interview/wilhelm-kempff-die-goldberg-variationen-1970/page-1/.