In just 43 minutes and 22 seconds, Yunchan Lim's life changed forever.

The Korean pianist, then 18 years old, was a finalist in the prestigious Van Cilbern International Piano Competition. He was to play Sergei RachmaninovA Russian composer, pianist and conductor. 's Piano Concerto No. 3 (1909): one of the most fiendishly difficult piano pieces of all time.

He did not just pull it off. He succeeded spectacularly. Lim won a standing ovation and first prize.¹ Some members of the jury said his version of the Concerto is the best ever.

Now 19, Lim is very humble. He claims he has little music talent. He cannot rewatch his own performance because he is disappointed in it.

Yet his star has kept rising. As The Independent's Jessica Duchen wrote: "His playing is so good you think you're dreaming." He has gained a huge online following.² In Korea he has been described as "classical music's answer to K-popShort for Korean pop. Pop music originating from South Korea. ".

Yesterday he signed a record deal with legendary classical label Decca,³ after a bidding war. All this - and he's still at college.

Classical music has always loved a child prodigyA child with exceptional skill or talent. . MozartAn 18th Century classical musician who composed more than 800 works. picked up piano aged three and composed 10 symphoniesLong pieces of music written for orchestras. before he was 12. BeethovenGerman composer (1770 - 1827) whose intense, dramatic work revolutionised classical music. gave his first concert performance aged seven. More recently, American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers debuted with the New York Philharmonic aged 12.⁴

The idea of the prodigy implies that some are born with an innate genius. But some think that they are created through training. As mathematician (and former child prodigy) Jordan Ellenberg writes: "The cult of genius tends to undervalue hard work".

Lim began studying aged seven, drawn to the "shiny and most impressive" grand piano. Before his winning performance he practised for up to 20 hours a day. Beethoven was forced to play by his cruel, fame-hungry father.

Mozart and Beethoven were undoubtedly geniuses, the most celebrated composers in history. But they might have achieved the same greatness had they come to composing later in life. Fellow great Hector Berlioz went to a conservatoryA school for studying classical music. Also known as a conservatoire. aged 23.

Some would argue that musicians like Lim do not qualify. Rachmaninov is a genius for composing his concertos. Lim is a merely talented musician skilfully following a score.

But whether or not Lim is a genius, his success suggests that classical music might be the new rock music, attracting millions of devoted fans.

It has been so before. Fellow prodigy Franz LisztA Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor, born in 1811. whipped audiences into such a frenzy that the poet Heinrich Heine coined the term "Lisztomania" to describe the phenomenon.⁵

Classical music can be incredibly powerful. Hans Christian AndersenA 19th Century Danish author best remembered for his fairy tales. wrote: "Where words fail, music speaks." Instrumental music can express complex feelings that works are unable too. And it can provide a vivid canvas for our own thoughts and feelings.

Yet the star power of Lim, a "shy, soft-spoken and bookish" young man, might not be enough to supplant rock star charisma. Pop songs are short, simple and catchy. Many people might not be ready for Rachmaninov's 40-minute odysseys.

Yes: Classical music is far more exciting, moving, vibrant and surprising than rock. It has an intellectual and emotional depth that trumps pop. Add an electronic beat and you can even dance to it.

No: Rudyard Kipling wrote, "words are the most powerful drug used by mankind." Rock music wins because it has lyrics that we can understand and identify with. And sometimes simplicity beats complexity.

Or... Just as we read novels and poems differently, and do not view painting in the same way as sculpture, classical music and rock are separate genres entirely. They are both brilliant in distinct ways.