Photo: Abhishek Pichumani
about me
Up until the age of twelve, I was one of those children who reluctantly practiced for 10 minutes right before my weekly piano lessons. When my family relocated to England from South Korea in 2006, I met Mrs. Park who somehow ignited my love for the piano which still remains strong to the present day. After four years at Wells Cathedral School, I continued my studies with many wonderful teachers in London, Oslo and Manchester where I currently reside.
I was once asked what makes me feel the most alive in life. My answer then was ‘when I feel that I am contributing positively to another person’s life’. As a musician I am so fortunate to have many opportunities to do this whether it is through performing to audiences, rehearsing with colleagues or teaching. Through fruitful interaction with others, I also find happiness in myself.
Since discovering Robert Schumann during my undergraduate years, his music has remained to be my greatest passion. But as nobody can (or should) only eat chocolate eclairs all the day long, every day, I equally enjoy immersing myself in the worlds of Bach, Beethoven, Faure, Bartok, Rachmaninoff amongst others. Through my recent interactions with Stephen Hough and Graham Fitkin, I have also discovered the exciting joy in working with living composers and playing new music.
As a South-Korean who has lived in three different European cities for more than half of my life, travelling and exploration of new cultures have been my important interests. I love going for long walks with friends in nature and cooking extravagant meals. I also shamelessly watch a vast amount of Netflix and listen to far too much K-Pop once the piano lid is closed at the end of each day.
Biography
Described as a pianist with ‘with great possibilities of nuance and perfect flexibility’ (Revista Arta), South Korean-British pianist Victor Lim has performed around the world in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Romania, China, Singapore and South Korea. Victor is a City Music Foundation Artist, a former Making Music UK’s Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist and the winner of the 2021 RNCM Gold Medal.
As a musician with tireless curiosity for all genres of music, Victor’s interest in new music has led to recent work with Thomas Adès, Graham Fitkin and Stephen Hough. Victor’s affinity with the music of Beethoven has been recognised by two awards from the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe, whilst he is known to have a great personal passion for the works of Robert Schumann.
Victor has made a studio recording of Graham Fitkin’s ‘Granite’ with BBC Philharmonic and has performed with Manchester Collective, Manchester Camerata, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Chinke! Orchestra and Royal Northern Sinfonia. In 2024, Victor recorded his first album with music by Charles Villiers Stanford in the composer’s centenary year, to be released by NAXOS in 2025.
An internationally sought-after teacher, Victor has been the Head of Keyboard Studies at Rossall School since 2022 where he is also the Director of International Piano Academy for gifted young pianists. He also holds teaching positions at the University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music, and is a regular member of the faculty at International Young Musicians Academy and Pro Corda.
Victor trained at Wells Cathedral School with John Byrne and Richard Ormrod, then at the Royal Northern College of Music with Graham Scott, Jeremy Young and Murray McLachlan as an ABRSM scholar. Awards from Help Musicians UK and the Countess of Munster Musical Trust enabled Victor to continue his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Michael Dussek, where he graduated with a Dip.RAM and received the Christian Carpenter Prize for the best final recital. After pursuing the Artist Diploma programme at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Victor completed his studies with Kathryn Stott at the RNCM gaining its prestigious International Artist Diploma.