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Gurwitz silver medalist Yedam Kim in recital: any way the wind blows, from Scarlatti to Queen

Yedam Kim, in performance for Musical Bridges Around the World on May 8, 2022 at San Fernando Cathedral.
Robert Michaelson
Yedam Kim, in performance for Musical Bridges Around the World on May 8, 2022 at San Fernando Cathedral.

Yedam Kim’s first appearance in San Antonio—and first time in the United States, for that matter—was in 2020, when she won the silver medal at The Gurwitz International Piano Competition. That program was newly being presented by Musical Bridges Around the World, and it was they who brought Ms. Kim back to San Antonio in May 2022 for a series of master classes, private events, and a free recital at San Fernando Cathedral, capping Musical Bridges’ season.

The program includes three of Domenico Scarlatti’s over 500 piano sonatas, music by Claude Debussy that sounds improvisational but is more “like a Swiss watch,” according to Kim, and an audience-pleasing encore of Freddie Mercury’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Kim began performing publicly again last summer, after over a year of practice at her home in Paris. Still, there was some trepidation:

“I was very happy to play again, even with [a] mask, and play chamber music, with [an] orchestra. It was like life before, but I was also a little afraid to come back onstage after such a long break.”

You wouldn’t know it from listening! Enjoy the recital by using the audio player above.

Find Yedam Kim online: https://www.yedam-kim.com/
Yedam Kim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yedam_k/

Pianist Yedam Kim performs at San Fernando Cathedral while a crowd sits in the pews.
Robert Michaelson
Yedam Kim at San Fernando Cathedral, May 8, 2022.