Meet Hee-Young Lim

If it isn’t already, the name Hee-Young Lim is one you should have on your radar. This young, South Korean cellist is quickly establishing herself as one of the leading musicians of this generation. Her passion for music is evident when you listen to her play. She has a tremendous command over her instrument and her virtuosity and musicality shine through in her debut recording that was released in November 2018 with Scott Yoo and the London Symphony Orchestra. Following the release of her album, I had the privilege of getting to know Hee-Young and learning a little more about why she chose exclusively French repertoire for this new release.

The concertos on Hee-Young’s album with the London Symphony are less commonly recorded than something like the Dvorak Cello Concerto.
 

The Saint-Saëns and Lalo concertos are some of the first pieces Hee-Young learned as a child. She told me what it was like to revisit them as an adult.
 

Hee-Young does not come from a musical family and the story about how she came to play the cello is somewhat amusing.


And the rest is history! During her recording session with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road studios, Hee-Young encountered a freak accident with her bow.


Hee-Young Lim’s album with the LSO includes cello concertos by Saint-Saëns, Lalo, and Milhaud, in addition to Offenbach’s “Les larmes de Jacqueline” and the famous Meditation from Thais by Massenet. We’re loving this new hit in the WGUC library and hope you do, too!