Entertainment - The Korea Times

Chinas classical music scene catching up with Korea

By Lee Hyo-won China has seen the rise of classical music’s biggest superstars like Lang Lang, and a seasoned cellist says that the arts scene there is trying to catch up with Korea. “The level of music-making in Korea is very high, and the younger generation of cellists is among the best in the world... Classical music in China is about one or two generations behind Korea,” Jian Wang said in a recent interview in Seoul. One of the first classical musicians to emerge from post-Culture Revolution China, the internationally acclaimed musician frequently visits Korea. He was in town this time for the Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music, which came to a close Sunday. “Korea has been successful because there is a market here, and soon it is really going to become a super power for classical music.” The 43-year-old joked how “23 percent” of the students at almost any given Western music school were Kims, the most common Korean surname. He noted that these students have returned to Korea as teachers and performers, raising the level of classical music-making here. Tho

May 24, 2011

Extra K-pop concert in Paris sells out in 10 minutes

By Chung Ah-young An extra K-pop concert slated for June 11 in Paris sold out in 10 minutes. “The June 11 concert to be held at Le Zenith de Paris sold all its tickets in 10 minutes after reservations were opened,” SM Entertainment said. SM Entertainment originally planned the K-pop concert on June 10 but the tickets were sold out in 15 minutes. More than 300 French fans who didn’t get tickets held a street rally including a flash mob and group dance to K-pop music in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris, urging the company to add an extra concert. The company decided to hold the additional concert “SM Town Live World Tour in Paris” on June 11. For the second concert, the ticket reservation sites — LiveNation (www.livenation.fr) and FnacSpectacles (www.fnacspectacles.com) — were temporarily shut down due to the explosion of online traffic on May 16. “We’ve reconfirmed the enormous interest from French fans. We hope K-pop groups such as TVXQ, Super Junior, SHINee, f(x) and Girls’ Generation will spread the ongoing popularity drive from Paris to other

May 17, 2011

K-pop stars give charity concerts in Japan

Concerts featuring K-pop singers with a large Japanese fan base will be held one after another in the neighboring country. Popular bands will take part in a charity event for Japan’s earthquake victims in Tokyo, Saturday. In the first half of the show to be held in the afternoon, boy bands FT Island, 2PM and SG Wannabe as well as girl group miss A will appear. In the evening TVXQ, 2AM, f(x) and IU will grace the second half, while SHINee, Beast and MBLAQ will take part in both parts of the showcase. All proceeds of the event will go to children who lost family members in the recent disaster. At Chiba on Sunday, Japan’s Asian entertainment channel DATV will host the 4th K-Pop Super Live show. The two-part performance will feature Shin Hye-sung, a member of Shinhwa, along with Super Junior and SHINee, among others. Also, the new five-member dance group X-5 will make its Japanese debut through the occassion. On June 7 a concert will be held in Osaka, inviting a dozen K-pop bands including TVXQ, 2PM, MBLAQ, U-Kiss, 4Minute, Beast, f(x) and T-ara. All proceeds f

May 13, 2011

Spring awakens with pianissimo

Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music continues until May 22 By Lee Hyo-won Music-making requires a wide range of expressions, from balletic pianissimos to thunderous, full-throttle oomph. For this reason the piano is often considered “the king of instruments” since its tonal and dynamic ranges cover the full spectrum of orchestral instruments. The piano almost always takes center stage even in chamber performances and the 6th Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music kicks off Wednesday under the theme “Pianissimo.” The event continues through May 22 to celebrate the etymology of the word “pianissimo” — “piano” — most appropriately for the bicentennial of the birth of pianist-composer Franz Liszt. On May 16, the “Lisztomania” concert at Hoam Art Hall, near City Hall, will highlight Liszt’s chamber works not only for the piano but also for string instruments. Fans of the Hungarian composer can also look forward to hearing the timeless etude “La Campanella” as part of the “Paris Story” concert on Friday. The concert, to be held at Sejong Chamber Hall,

May 10, 2011

French fans demand extension of sold-out K-pop concert

PARIS (Yonhap) ― Hundreds of French fans rallied in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday to demand an extension of a Korean pop concert that sold out in 15 minutes. Some 300 young people picketed and danced to Korean pop tunes for over an hour, demanding that the concert scheduled for June 10 be extended by one day. Korean pop culture, known as "Hallyu," or the Korean Wave, has been gaining worldwide popularity in recent years. Girls' Generation, Super Junior, SHINee and other top groups managed by the agency S.M. Entertainment are scheduled to perform at the Zenith de Paris concert hall, which seats more than 6,000 people. "As this is the first concert by S.M. singers in Europe, fans there are very enthusiastic," said an agency official from Seoul. "We're considering holding an additional concert after looking into our singers' schedules," the official said, adding that fans at the rally were not only French but also from across Europe. Some of the participants claimed that certain individuals had begun to scalp tickets after hoarding hundreds of them whe

May 3, 2011

Beauty brims between the void

Anne-Sophie Mutter to offer chamber music By Lee Hyo-won “Mozart’s music is like well-written poetry,” Anne-Sophie Mutter once said about the iconic composer. “There are so many underlying meanings but require a concise reading between the lines. His music begins with a full outburst but disappears into silence. That is why playing Mozart requires expressing both beauty and serenity.” Age is nothing but a number and Mutter, one of the world’s most beloved violinists, seems to give the cliched phrase a meaningful musicality. Thirty-five years ago the violinist surprised the world by showcasing exhilarating Mozart concerti opposite the Karajan-led Berlin Philharmonic at the tender age of 15, and she continues to awe the audience with an unnerving bravura onstage. But just like how the best poetry leaves room for thought, she captivates the crowd with the ebb and flow of sounds, keeping you on the edge of your seat with the silence between the notes. Fans will be able to savor something more subdued, yet no less intense, in an upcoming chamber concert next month.

Apr 26, 2011

Demand for Seos music soars amid scandal

As Seo Tai-ji’s marriage and divorce with actress E Ji-ah continues to create a stir, the demand for the singer’s music has increased by four times. “A survey of major domestic music websites such as Melon, Bugs and Dosirak shows that sales for music content related to Seo Tai-ji has surged almost fourfold over the past weekend,” Gaon Chart, the country’s comprehensive music chart, said Monday. The figures are not a final accumulation of the number of downloads from multiple websites, said the chart. The most downloaded song was “Neoege” (To You), which appeared in Seo Taiji and Boys’ second album, among other pieces from the mid-1990s when Seo dated and married E. “Seo Tai-ji had always been a very mysterious figure and it seems many fans are shocked by the news about his personal life,” said a staff of Gaon. “Fans are mostly taking an interest in songs that were made during the time Seo dated and married E. In particular ‘Neoege’ is one of Soe’s very few love songs.” Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Gaon Chart is based on both online and off

Apr 26, 2011

JYJ to hold concerts in North America

By Kwon Mee-yoo K-pop group JYJ will head to North America in May after finishing its Asian tour, appearing in Vancouver, Newark, Los Angeles and San Jose. The three members, Jun-su, Yu-chun and Jae-joong, started their world tour in Bangkok, Thailand on April 2 and then headed to Taiwan. They held a concert at Taipei Dome, Taiwan, on Saturday drawing some 10,000 fans. The boy band sang songs including “Empty,” “Be My Girl” and “Be the One.” They also presented songs in the form of music essays “Their Rooms,” such as “Mission” and “Fallen Leaves.” They also introduced new songs “In Heaven” and “Get Out” for the world tour. Jae-joong directed the concert with the concept of “Creative Challenge.” He came up with a cross-shaped stage to communicate more with fans. The 120-minute concert excited the audience. Taiwanese actor John Shen said via Twitter that he really enjoyed the concert and JYJ is his role model. JYJ thanked their fans who sang the songs aloud. “We feel the quality of our concert was raised with the Taiwanese one,” the group said in a press release

Apr 26, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Catching and completing the elusive

Paik to paint many faces of Liszt for bicentennial By Lee Hyo-won Following 2010’s celebrations for Chopin, this year sees a long lineup for the bicentennial of Franz Liszt ― composer and pianist extraordinaire, free-spirited socialite and man of religion, Casanova and astute critic all-in-one. The amazing thing about classical music is that, centuries down the road, it still keeps its performers busy with so many anniversaries. Among those with a packed schedule for Liszt’s 200th birthday is pianist Paik Kun-woo. Ahead of the occasion on Oct. 22, Paik will give two concerts in Seoul on June 19 and 25. The Paris-based Korean, much like the late globetrotting Hungarian, arrived in town recently after performing in Genoa and Guangzhou, China. He said he has “many other engagements” including giving more concerts in Italy and Mexico, as well as judging two competitions named after Liszt. Demand for the 65-year-old is high because he had already championed an all-Liszt program 29 years ago. In 1982 Paris, he showcased six concerts over six weeks that was broadcast and

Apr 25, 2011

Sumi Jo still challenging herself after 25 years

By Lee Hyo-won In 1986 a small-framed Asian woman took the world by surprise as Gilda in Trieste, and within five years she had played parts a soprano could only dream about on the most prestigious stages — the Salzburg Festival, La Scala, New York Met, Vienna State Opera and Royal Opera. After a quarter-century of captivating audiences with flighty coloratura, Sumi Jo continues to challenge her voice anew. For the 25th anniversary of her debut the lyric artist will showcase Baroque music, meaning she will have to drastically tame the agile vocal runs and leaps she is famous for. “I am so nervous. I never sang Baroque live in Korea before,” Jo said over the phone, Monday, while packing at her Italy home. She will be visiting other countries before giving homecoming concerts in Seoul and Gyeongsang Provinces in May. “My voice is high-pitched and marked by fancy technique, but Baroque music requires a more refined and restrained treatment,” she said. But perhaps she should revel in pleasant anticipation than worry; in 2006, Jo released a recording of period pieces

Apr 12, 2011

K-pop