HJ Lim

HJ Lim is a South Korean pianist who became the first Korean to reach number one on the Billboard Classical and iTunes charts.

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She was born in 1986 in Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, and began playing piano at the age of 3.

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After attending Manan Elementary School and Geunmyeong Middle School, she traveled alone to study in France during her freshman year.

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She entered the Compiègne Conservatory in France and graduated in first place in five months, then graduated early from the Conservatoire National de Rouen in three years, and became the youngest person to enter the Paris Conservatoire, completing the four-year program in three years and graduating as the youngest and best student.

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In 2009, she became a "YouTube star" when she uploaded a video of the Flight of the Queen Bee, which she chose as an encore for a recital of all the works of Chopin and Rachmaninoff in Basel, Switzerland, to show her parents.

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Lim's complete Beethoven sonatas, released on EMI, received favorable reviews in the New York Times, BBC Music, and The Telegraph.

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She became the first Korean performer to reach #1 on the Billboard Classical chart.

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She is currently active as a pianist and conductor, founded the Interstellar Orchestra and has performed with them extensively, and has collaborated with a variety of extraordinary artists, performing all over the world.