Traditional music meets jazz Jazz musician Nah Youn-sun poses in front of the National Theater of Korea on Namsan Mountain in downtown Seoul. Nah is the artistic director of this year’s Yeowoorak Festival held at the theater from July 1 to 26. / Courtesy of Herb MusicNah Youn-sun to lead Yeowoorak Festival By Kwon Mee-yooKorean jazz musician Nah Youn-sun has a large following across the globe. She performs more than 100 times a year in various parts of the world, spending more than half the year on the road. This year, instead of traveling all over the world with her music, Nah took up a new challenge.Nah has been appointed as the artistic director of the Yeowoorak Festival, a Korean music festival at the National Theater of Korea (NTOK) on Namsan Mountain in central Seoul.Running from July 1-26, the series of concerts hosted by the NTOK pushes the boundaries of "gugak" (Korean traditional music). The title of the festival, Yeowoorak, comes from an abbreviation for the Korean sentence, “Yeogi woori eumagi itda” meaning “Here is our music.” Established in 2010, tJun 22, 2015
Jo Sumi to hold concert with Japanese conductor Jo Sumi Soprano Jo Sumi will hold a concert with Japanese conductor Tomomi Nishimoto to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan, June 22.The two female classical stars last performed together in 2010 at Carrnegie Hall in New York City. The concert in Tokyo will be their fourth collaboration.IlluminArt Philharmonic Orchestra, the first Asian orchestra to perform at the Vatican Music Festival with Nishimoto in 2013, will back Jo and Nishimoto, the first Asian chief conductor for the State Symphony Orchestra of Russia.Embassy official said the concert was organized to promote friendship between Korea and Japan and will provide a chance to experience the two country’s top classical music performers.Jun 17, 2015
Chung to take orchestra to Pyongyang Chung Myung-whunBy Kwon Mee-yooConductor Chung Myung-whun, who also serves as musical director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), will take German orchestra Staatskapelle Dresden to North Korea in November as an attempt to improve inter-Korean relations through music.Chung, the first Korean conductor to become a global name, said he plans to tour Korea and China with the German orchestra in November and Pyongyang is on the list of its destinations. "We will perform in Seoul on Nov. 18 and 19 and plan to go to Pyongyang afterwards. Germany and Korea share similarities (such as experiences of decades of division) and it would be wonderful if the trip to North Korea is allowed," Chung said during an interview with Yonhap News in France.Staatskapelle Dresden is one of the world's oldest orchestras and Chung has been the principal guest conductor of the orchestra since 2012.Chung often mentioned that the musical exchange between South and North Korea is one of his biggest dreams. In 2012, he conducted a joint concert of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, of which he serJun 14, 2015
Music festival brings Debussy to PyeongChang Chung Kyung-wha, second from left, music director of the Great Mountains Music Festival & School, speaks at a news conference at the Grand Ambassador hotel in central Seoul, Monday. From left are pianist Son Yeol-eum, Chung and music director Chung Myung-wha. / YonhapBy Kwon Ji-youn The serene resort of PyeongChang in Gangwon Province continues to make headlines as it readies itself for the 2018 Winter Olympics ― but before that, a series of comprehensive chamber music festivals are to hit town in the summers leading up to the mega sporting event.The Great Mountains Music Festival & School (GMMFS), helmed by music directors Chung Myung-wha and Chung Kyung-wha, will kick off its 22-day run on July 14 and this year it is set to feature a program that meshes the classics with the contemporaries under the theme “French Chic.”If 2013’s GMMFS “Northern Lights ― Aurora’s Song” celebrated the brilliance of Scandinavian composers, and last year’s “O Sole Mio” observed those of the Mediterranean, this year’Jun 8, 2015
MERS scares people away from music festivals By Kwon Ji-younAmid growing fears over the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), more and more concert and festival-goers are demanding refunds, opting to stay at home instead of risking potential infection.Some 130,000 people are expected to gather at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in southern Seoul on June 12 and 13 to let loose at this year’s Ultra Music Festival (UMF), but organizers admitted Thursday they have been receiving calls requesting refunds.“About 40 people called this morning to cancel their reservations,” said an organizer. “But unless a government advisory is issued, we won’t be cancelling or postponing the festival.”She continued, “As far as I know, MERS is not airborne. Our festival does not include camping, so I don’t think it will be too big a problem.”Regardless, concerned comments wallpapered the UMF’s official Facebook page Thursday, calling on organizers to call the event off or postpone it.“My boyfriend and I purchased early bird tickets and we were planning to go both days,” wrJun 4, 2015
A cappella group celebrates 20 years with Korea tour b vocal / Courtesy of SPA EntertainmentBy Kwon Ji-youn A host of a cappella groups have been dazzling Korean fans, but one ensemble in particular stands out ― they’re Spanish, they’re hysterical and they’re among the rare group of foreign musicians with a website carrying pages in Korean.For the fifth consecutive year, they’re bringing their extraordinary musical groove and on-stage humor to Seoul.B vocal, the winners of the 2010 jury and audience awards at the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival in New York, will start its Korea tour tonight at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul with a program that spans pop through folk. At the end of the night, a special stage will treat fans to a medley of popular K-pop numbers that the quintet has been practicing and perfecting over the years.“Every year, we perform medleys of popular Korean songs to show our audience our thanks for their love,” the group said in a recent e-mail interview with The Korea Times.“It’s always been a challenge creating the mixes of Korean songs Jun 1, 2015
Hengelbrock to bring Mahler's 'Hamburg' Symphony to Seoul Thomas Hengelbrock, German violinist and North German Radio Symphony Orchestra’s principal conductor, will perform at Seoul Arts Center on May 26-27. / Courtesy of VinceroBy Kwon Ji-younTo Thomas Hengelbrock, Korea is a “great country” for classical music.“So many Korean music students study in Germany, and I have taught a few of them,” the German violinist and North German Radio Symphony Orchestra (NDR Symphony) principal conductor said in a recent interview. “And there are a number of Korean singers at our opera house.”Hengelbrock and the NDR Symphony have put together a matchless program for their concerts at the Seoul Arts Center on May 26 and 27, in the hope of enthralling their Korean “musical companions.”“I’m very excited that our first performance in Korea will feature the Hamburg 1893 version of Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony,” said Hengelbrock. “The Hamburg version will boast a completely new interpretation, cut in on a series of detailed amendments. It may even provide aMay 15, 2015
Chung to sit out 'Valkyrie' concert Chung Myung-whunBy Kwon Ji-youn Chung Myung-whun will not conduct the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s (SPO) “Valkyrie” concert set for May 20.The SPO said Wednesday the music director’s cervical disc condition has rendered him unable to conduct a performance four hours in length. German conductor Constantin Trinks will helm the performance instead.“I’m sorry I will not be able to conduct the upcoming concert,” Chung said. “But I’m sure Trinks, who has plenty of experience conducting Wagner, and the SPO will do a great job.”This is not the first time heath concerns have impacted Chung’s concert scheduled. In February, he cancelled the “Filarmonica della Scala” tour and three “Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France” performances with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra because of pain in his neck and back.At the time, Chung’s doctor had advised he take at least three months of rest, but with treatment and exercise, he has been able to conduct performances that are less than two hours longMay 13, 2015
JYJ member to release special-edition album Kim Jun-su, a member of the popular boy band JYJ, will release a special edition album later this month, his management agency said Tuesday.The album, due on May 28, includes a disco-punk version of "X Song," the double title piece of his third solo album that hit record stores in March, some 50 previously undisclosed photos of him and a DVD containing making-of videos for his recent music videos and the photoshoots for his album jackets, according to C-Jes Entertainment.The 28-year-old said the new album will become available for reservation on various online music stores from Friday.The singer dominated domestic music sites and topped the Japanese Oricon weekly chart for imported albums as soon as his third solo album "Flower" came out. It rose to the seventh post on the Billboard World Albums' Chart."We received many inquires for the special edition album because Xia-Junsu made a big hit with his third solo album and tour of seven Asian cities," the agency said. "We expect this album will also be received well as it includes a DVD and undisclosed photos." (Yonhap)May 12, 2015
CULTURE LINE “Big Bang” hits 952 million on Weibo‘Big Bang’Searches for the K-Pop group Big Bang recorded over 950 million hits on China’s most popular social network service (SNS) Weibo, the boy band’s management said, Wednesday.YG Entertainment announced that some 952 million searches involving the hugely popular group has been made on Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter since the five-member band released its new single on May 1.Weibo recorded that about 850 million searches were made for the keyword “#BIGBANG#,” about 24 million searches for the song title “#LOSER#,” 14 million for another song title “#BAEBAE#” and 64 million for the title of the band’s album “#MADE SERIES#,” the company said.Comprised of G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri, Big Bang began its ambitious project to release new tracks on the first day of every month from May to August and later compile the singles in to one studio album which will be titled “Made” in September.The band released its first two singesMay 6, 2015
