Yunchan Lim
Yunchan Lim will make his West Coast debut on Sept. 18 | Courtesy of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

Among the nine renowned pianists scheduled to appear next season at Steinway Society – The Bay Area, Yunchan Lim may be the most eagerly awaited. Van Cliburn Competition winners always become instantly famous, but the 18-year-old South Korean has outdone them all with worldwide acclaim that’s not restricted to classical music circles.

Lim will open the 28th season in San José’s Montgomery Theater on Sept. 18 at 2:30 p.m. He is the youngest performer ever to take home gold at the Cliburn, having won numerous prizes before, including competitions in Cleveland, South Korea, and elsewhere.

Steinway Society – The Bay Area is a nonprofit organization whose mission is “to promote excellence in piano performance and music education.” At the beginning of the organization, co-founder David Dumont forged a relationship with the Van Cliburn Piano Competition, and as a result, the series has presented 15 medalists, including seven gold medalists, over the years. Lim — whose program is not yet announced — will be the 16th medalist, eighth gold medalist, and one of three gold medalists just this season, the others being from 1997 and 2013.

Jon Nakamatsu
Jon Nakamatsu’s recital is scheduled for Oct. 1

Many of the live concerts will also be available online as livestreamed videos, remaining available for 48 hours after the recital. Before their performances, some of the artists will give a short talk about their programmed pieces and their musical lives. A recorded preconcert lecture by a Bay Area classical music expert will also be available on the Steinway Society website.

President Kathy You Wilson said audience “comfort and safety continue to be of great importance to Steinway Society. In addition to in-person concerts, we are also including an option for you to livestream the concerts. Similar to our Home Concert Series, concerts will be streamed directly into your living room.”

Single tickets to attend are $45 to $80, with discounts available for students and seniors. Livestream viewing online is priced at $40 per household.

The second program of the season is with Jon Nakamatsu on Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San José. The program is Alban Berg’s Sonata, Op. 1; a fantasy, nocturne, and scherzo by Chopin; and Brahms’s Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5.

Ukrainian Van Cliburn winner Vadym Kholodenko performs on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Visual and Performing Arts Center at De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino. He will perform Franz Schubert’s Sonata in E-flat Major, D. 568, and four works by Sergei Prokofiev.

Born in Moscow, Natasha Paremski moved to the U.S. with her family at the age of 8 and made her professional debut a year later with the El Camino Youth Symphony. Her recital — on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Saratoga High School’s McAfee Performing Arts Center, 20300 Herriman Ave., Saratoga — will have an extensive program of music by Chopin, Thomas Adès, Maurice Ravel, and Mily Balakirev.

Vadym Kholodenko
Vadym Kholodenko will give a recital on Nov. 12 | Courtesy of Steinway Society

The season’s fifth recital is by Alessandro Deljavan on Jan. 21, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. in Hoover Theatre, 1635 Park Ave., San José, featuring sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti and Schubert and four scherzos by Chopin.

Tatar by birth, from Kazan, and now a professor of piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Rustem Hayroudinoff will perform on Feb. 11, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. in Hoover Theatre. His program consists of J.S. Bach sonatas, Sergei Rachmaninoff etudes, and works by Chopin.

Named by Gramophone as one of “piano’s golden generation,” Benjamin Grosvenor is taking part in the series on March 25, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. in Santa Clara University’s Louis B. Mayer Theatre, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara. His program: the Bach-Busoni Chaconne in D Minor, Robert Schumann’s Fantasie in C Major, Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin, and Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83.

Martín García García from Spain is a multiple contest award winner, performing on April 30, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. in Cubberley Theatre, 4120 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, playing a Mozart sonata and works by Franz Liszt, Chopin, Schubert, and Rachmaninoff.

The series concludes with Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen’s return to Steinway Society on May 6, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. at Cubberley Theatre, performing Edvard Grieg’s Ballade in G Minor, Op. 24; Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit; and Chopin’s Ballades Op. 23, 38, 47, and 52.