It's always up to debate whether musicality is an inborn gift or an acquired skill. The question is even more interesting in the case of a 9-year old pianist playing at a level of virtuosity unmatched by most adults in her field. Ju-Hi Lim (Джу-Хи Лим), a child prodigy hailing from South Korea, made her debut performance at the Mariinsky Theater Concert Hall, playing two concerts back-to-back on the 22nd and 23rd of June.
I had a chance to attend her second performance, where she played Haydn's Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major with none other than Valery Gergiev (artistic director of the festival and the Mariinsky Theater) conducting. She was in good company to say the least, and she more than lived up to the occasion. Her playing was fluid, displaying remarkable skill and maturity. Gergiev calls her "phenomenal," which is a rare feat these days, while the credit for her discovery keeps changing hands.
And where do we attribute credit for her talent? Nature or nurture? Good genes or good parenting? An uncontrollable fervor within or the strictly regimented discipline surrounding her? I say both. Regardless, her talent is one in a million and whatever it takes to fulfill her potential is fine by me.
Her parents, who barely speak English (and even less Russian), already have a lot to be proud of, and even so, they don't plan on slowing the breakneck pace of her development. She practices at least four and a half hours day, sometimes more, and isn't missing out on any opportunities (even if it means staying up until the late hours of the night just to be in the company of Gergiev and his guests). What she needs now is a break from the hectic schedule of rehearsing and performing, so that she can rest and be her 9-year old self. She deserves it.
With the legendary Maya Plisetskaya (more on her later):
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