
Yekwon Sunwoo was actually a contestant at the 2013 Cliburn as well, when he was 24, but did not become a finalist. He possesses an interesting quality that I feel Rubinstein also possessed: that of freshness in his performances. His playing never becomes stiff or overworked. It is almost as if he is hearing every piece of music he plays for the first time as he is playing it--there is a kind of 1-to-1 relationship between the music in his mind and the sound that he is producing at any given time. Of the performances available on Youtube, I've found the following to be the most interesting, although often a competition winner's best performances are omitted from Youtube in order to promote the CD release:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp9T5MYiWNQDvorak Piano Quintet. I'm going to do something almost nobody ever does and recommend Sunwoo's chamber piece first. I think this performance is brilliant and really shows off Sunwoo's musicality best. Many pianists can blow you away in solo repertoire but struggle when they have to share the stage because they cannot dictate the character of the performance and are forced to listen to what the other musicians are doing. This ensemble performance flows naturally and seamlessly out of Sunwoo. The string players deserve some credit here too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spm9IlC4d7cBeethoven Sonata No. 30 Op. 109. Ultimately not a groundbreaking interpretation of this frequently performed and recorded sonata, but you can hear that quality of freshness here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1rCdLGRb08&t=574sRach 3rd. There are more than a few slips in this performance, but also an undeniable verve and energy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSr-qltYIS0&t=2384sThis is Sunwoo's first round recital from 2013. Interesting to see how he has developed. In 2013 he was both literally and figuratively more buttoned down, but also less free. Any Gould fan will recognize Beethoven Sonata No. 13 from the movement that was featured in the culty but not entirely accurate film "32 Short Films about Glenn Gould."