Culture Briefs

Korean sisters win top music award in Denmark

Trio con Brio Copenhagen, an award-winning trio based in Denmark, was conferred an esteemed award at one of the Scandinavian country’s most distinguished music festivals, the Korean Embassy in Denmark said Sunday.

The group, comprised of Danish pianist Jens Elvekjaer and two Korean sisters, Hong Soo-jin on the violin and Hong Soo-kyung on the cello, was awarded the P2 Artist Award at the Danish Music Awards on Jan. 10 for its influence on Danish life as ambassadors for chamber music.

Hong Soo-jin was the first Korean to be named concert master for the Denmark National Symphony Orchestra in 80 years, and her sister Soo-kyung is its top cellist.

Trio con Brio Copenhagen is the first ensemble to receive the P2 Artist Award. Former recipients include Danish conductor Michael Schonwandt, violinist and conductor Nikolaj Znaider and opera singer Bo Skovhus.

The trio, founded in 1999, rose to prominence when it won the main award at the prestigious German ARD International Music Competition in 2002. It became an Ensemble in Residence at Copenhagen’s historic Round Tower in 2005, and that year won the prestigious Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award. The trio has performed at music venues around the world, including New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Encore of ‘Cats’ to be staged in April

Encore performances of the musical “Cats” will be staged in Korea for just four weeks during the month of April.

Seol & Company said Monday that encores of the famous Broadway musical’s original production will kick off on April 10 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.

Last year’s performances received acclaim for their power and intensity, and tickets sold out early. The team is currently staging performances in Singapore and will swing by Macau before returning to Korea.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats,” based on T. S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” premiered in London’s West End in 1981, and has since been performed in over 30 countries in 15 languages.

It tells the story of a tribe of cats, the Jellicles, and the night they make the “the Jellicle choice” and decide which cat will go up to the Heaviside Layer and return to a new life.

‘Gangnam Blues’ tops weekend box office

An action-noir film “Gangnam Blues” topped the weekend box office, dethroning “Ode to My Father” in its first weekend in theaters, industry figures showed Monday.

According to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the film set in the 1970s Gangnam district in southern Seoul, garnered 709,608 admissions for three days from Friday to Sunday. In total, the film also passed the one million audience mark as of Sunday.

Directed by Yoo Ha, the film revolves around two childhood friends who get involved in political clashes when the Gangnam district was being transformed into a developed area in the 1970s.

It is followed by Disney’s animated film “Big Hero 6,” “Ode to My Father” and “Today’s Love.”

Park Hyo-shin to return with new single next month

R&B singer Park Hyo-shin, 33, will release a new single next month, his management agency Jellyfish Entertainment announced, Sunday.

“Park will come back with his third single, titled ‘Shine Your Light’ in February,” the company said in a statement.

Though a concrete date of release has not been mentioned, the company added Park has collaborated with Andy Platts, a lead singer of British band Mamas Gun for his new song, which was disclosed to Park’s fans at his concert last month.

Making his debut in 1999 with his first studio album, “Things I Can’t Do for You,” Park has released six studio albums in total. Last March, he released a new song “Wild Flower,” which drew huge attention from local music fans.

Park is scheduled to perform at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in southern Seoul for two days on Feb. 14 and 15 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of his debut album.