Amsterdam Faya Allstars to set Korea on fire Amsterdam Faya AllstarsBy Jon Dunbar Korean culture may be as far removed from Jamaica as possible, but that won't stop the Amsterdam Faya Allstars from coming halfway around the world to connect with the local reggae and ska community.The Dutch band is visiting after the Lunar New Year weekend for a four-day engagement in Seoul."Personally I am very curious about Korea," said Remco Korporaal, the band's vocalist/sax player. "The country is impressive compared to its size if you see its neighbors -- China, North Korea and Japan. The South Korean star is rising steady. Also their performance in the World Cup got my attention!"Recently, Korporaal reconnected with ex-bandmate Joep Van Rhijn, who had married a Korean and moved to the southern city of Daegu where he plays in gugak fusion band Artkiki. Van Rhijn introduced Korporaal to local ska musician Oh Jeong-seok, trumpeter of local ska band Kingston Rudieska, who arranged the tour."I heard they have a Japan tour, so it was possible to invite them on the heels of that," said Oh, who promotes ska through his label Eastern StandardFeb 5, 2016
Cho Seong-jin returns home in glory Pianist Cho Seong-jin speaks at a press conference at the Seoul Arts Center, Monday. / YouhapWinner of Chopin Piano Competition to hold gala concertBy Kwon Ji-younPianist Cho Seong-jin, winner of the 2015 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, is set to perform at a gala concert with other prize winners tonight at the Seoul Arts Center. It is the first winners’ gala concert in Korea, as well as the young pianist’s first concert in Seoul since he won the prestigious contest in October last year.“It has been almost a year since I stepped foot in Korea,” Cho said at a press conference, Monday. “I am both thrilled and anxious to be back. I want to thank all of my supporters.”In October, Cho became the first Korean to win the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, one of the oldest and most prestigious music competitions in the world. In the final round of the 17th event held from Oct. 18 to 20 in Warsaw, Poland, Cho won the top prize and 30,000 euros (36.8 million won). The competition saw 160 participants from 27 countries in the pFeb 1, 2016
Pianist Cho Seong-jin to release second live recording The cover of Cho Seong-jin’s upcoming live recording / YonhapPianist Cho Seong-jin, winner of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, will release a live recording of the competition under the label of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute next month. This is Cho’s second album following his first released under the Deutsche Grammophon label in November, selling out the record initial 50,000 copies in less than a week.The coming recording will feature Cho’s performances from the preliminary round to the final round, including the prize-winning interpretation of Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Etudes Op. 10, Mazurkas, Ballade Op. 38 and Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49.Meanwhile, Cho, who has signed with the world’s most-celebrated classical music record label Deutsche Grammophon, will record Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Chopin’s four Ballades with the world-renowned Deutsche Staatskapelle, under the baton of Chung Myung-whun, in April. Cho, the first Korean pianist to take first place in the Chopin competition, will Jan 29, 2016
Music to jazz up 2018 PyeongChang Olympics Jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun, from left, violinist Chung Kyung-wha and cellist Chung Myung-wha attend a press conference at the Grand Ambassador Seoul, Wednesday. The two Chung sisters are the artistic directors of the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Music Festival. / YonhapBy Kwon Ji-younViolinist Chung Kyung-wha will try her hand at jazz at the PyeongChang Winter Music Festival next month.Chung, one of the festival’s artistic directors, will collaborate with jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun at the event in the small resort town of PyeongChang in Gangwon Province from Feb. 25 to 28.One of the two pieces they will perform has been composed specially for Chung by Swedish jazz guitarist Ulf Wakenius.“I have always loved jazz, but this will be my first time performing a jazz piece,” Chung said at a press event, Wednesday. “There is a lot of pressure, but I have faith in Nah, and I’m sure it will be a great learning experience.”The PyeongChang Winter Music Festival, presented by the Great Mountains Music Festival and School (GMMFS), will add jazz, klezmer (a musicJan 27, 2016
KNO strives to create 'Operas for all' Korea National Opera (KNO) Artistic Director Kim Hak-min, right, and KNO Artistic Adviser Massimo Guantini at the Opera Theater of the Seoul Arts Center / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukNew version of ‘Soul Mate’ to boost ‘K-operaBy Kwon Ji-younSome unfamiliar titles have made their way into the Korea National Opera’s (KNO) repertoire this year. From April 28 to May 1, it is set to stage a production of “Rusalka,” by Dvorak, and from May 18 through 21, a rendition of “Orlando Finto Pazzo,” by Vivaldi.The choices fall in line with artistic director Kim Hak-min’s leading initiative for the KNO ― to create “operas for all people.”“The KNO is state-run, which means that its real sponsors are the public,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times. “Access should not be limited regionally, or by class or wealth. Opera for all people is one of my philosophies as artistic director.”Kim, who took the helm of the KNO last year, has a lot planned for the next three years at the KNO. He hopJan 20, 2016
Live music club rolls on another year Won Jong-hee, lead singer of Korean punk band Rux, gives bassist Yoon Hyung-sick an affectionateshove during a performance in Rolling Hall on June 10, 2012. / Photo by Jon DunbarBy Jon DunbarIf Rolling Hall were a human living in America, it would now be old enough to drink. That's impressive for a venue in a country whose modern live music history only goes back the same amount of time, to around 1995. After a two-decade dark age, in which Korea’s live music community was censored, blacklisted and oppressed by strict authoritarian governments, its re-emergence came about in the mid-‘90s in underground clubs across western Seoul around Yonsei and Hongik universities, in places like Rolling Hall, Drug and Skunk Hell. Rolling Hall should especially be celebrated, staying open in Hongdae, a neighborhood where rising rents seems to force out another club each month; in February, Rolling Hall's tinier neighbor Ruailrock closes its doors. This venue, with a capacity of 600, is one of Hongdae's larger music halls, along with Lezhincomics V-Hall, KT&G SangsangJan 20, 2016
Lotte Concert Hall to open in August Lotte Concert Hall / Yonhap Lotte Concert Hall CEOKim Eui-joonBy Kwon Ji-younLotte Concert Hall, located in the Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul, will open on Aug. 18.It is the first classical concert hall to open in Seoul since the Seoul Arts Center (SAC) opened 28 years ago.At a press event, Tuesday, Kim Eui-joon, CEO of Lotte Concert Hall and the Lotte Foundation for Arts, said construction of the hall is now in its finishing stages and that its concert line-up from August through December has been confirmed.“We had hoped to open the hall in September last year, but circumstances weren’t on our side,” Kim said.Lotte Concert Hall is a vineyard-style concert hall, with seating surrounding the stage, rising up in serried rows like the sloping terraces of a vineyard. Other vineyard-style concert halls include Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the symphonic concert hall of the Philharmonie de Paris.Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics, an international acoustical consultancy firm, helmed the designing of the hall, whichJan 19, 2016
Music duo hopes to 'breathe' with fans Music band 숨[su:m] performs at CC Ter Vesten, Beveren, Belgium, on Oct. 13, 2015. / Courtesy of Vio KimBy Baek Byung-yeul Amid ongoing efforts to promote “gugak” or traditional Korean music to the world, 숨[su:m] is one of the bands most widely recognized for their sentimental and eloquent music performed with traditional Korean instruments.Featuring Park Ji-ha and Seo Jung-min, the female duo has attracted local fans seeking new sounds produced by traditional instruments ever since the 2010 release of their first studio album “Rhythmic Space: A Pause for Breath.”While being recognized in the local music scene, they also have made their name abroad, taking the stage in a slew of overseas events including last year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, and the U.K.’s World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) festival in 2014.Explaining that their band name means “breathing” in Korean, the duo’s leader Park said their band name describes their desire to stay with their fans every moment they breathe.“When we decided tJan 18, 2016
Riccardo Muti brings 'rock solid' Chicago Symphony to Seoul Riccardo Muti / Courtesy of VinceroMaestro is still in ‘honeymoon’ with orchestraBy Kwon Ji-younMaestro Riccardo Muti describes the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) as a wonder in the musical world, one of the greatest classical symphonic ensembles in existence. Together, they are prepared to make a remarkable impression on Korean audiences when they visit Seoul later this month.“I know that Korea is a country dedicated to music,” Muti, music director of the CSO, said in an interview with The Korea Times. “There are so many artists who come from Korea, and there are many orchestras, not only in Seoul, but in other parts of the country. But the Chicago Symphony, I think, will make an impression that will not be forgotten too easily even by the Korean people.”This concert, at the Seoul Arts Center on Jan. 28-29, marks Muti’s first in Korea in 12 years, and the CSO’s second ever. The Italian conductor did not perform with the CSO in its first performance here due to health reasons. This performance falls in line with the CSO’s AJan 13, 2016
Vienna choir to hold auditions in Korea The Vienna Boys’ Choir will be holding auditions in Korea to recruit local talents this month.According to production agency Credia, the choir has decided to host a special round of auditions here because a number of Korean boys have expressed their hopes of joining the ensemble. Gerald Wirth, the choir’s artistic director, will be one of the judges.Applications will be accepted before Jan. 13 via e-mail, and only boys aged nine and older are eligible.The Vienna Boys’ Choir, founded in 1498, is the world’s best-known boys’ choir, one of three imperial Austrian musical groups along with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera. The choir is set to perform here starting Jan. 15.In 1986, the choir accepted its first non-Austrian, and in 2010, the first Korean joined. The ensemble now has three Korean members.In 2012, Kim Bo-mi became the first Korean and the first woman to be appointed conductor of one of the four touring choirs.Though the boys must leave the choir when their voices change with puberty, many remain at the school to finisJan 6, 2016
