Entertainment - The Korea Times

F(x) to return with Pinocchio next week

By Kwon Mee-yoo Girl band f(x) is ready to rock the K-pop scene again with its first studio album "Pinocchio," to be released next Wednesday. Five teaser photos of members Victoria, Amber, Luna, Sulli and Krystal have been released successively. Krystal’s photo was first made public last Thursday with the orange-haired member showing off her fierce eyes. Amber, known for her boyish style, dyed her hair blonde for the photo. She took a break in the United States after injuring her ankle last year and disappeared from the Korean entertainment scene, unlike other members. Sulli boasts her cuteness in the red-tone photo. She is currently hosting "Inkigayo" on SBS, a music chart program on Sundays. Chinese member Victoria sheds feminine beauty in the cut. She was busy starring in variety shows such as MBC's "Just Married" and "Invincible Youth" on KBS. Luna wears retro-style sunglasses in her photo. She recently marked her musical debut by portraying the lovely Elle Woods in the musical "Legally Blonde." The group made its debut in 2009, with their singles "LA chA

Apr 12, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Lena Park comes A Little Closer in May

By Kwon Mee-yoo Lena Park will look to get closer to her fans in concerts at the LG Art Center in southern Seoul, from May 17 to 22. Park is known for her powerful, appealing voice coming from such a small frame. She will perform hit songs such as "In Dreams," "P.S. I Love You" and "You Mean Everything to Me," arranged especially for the series titled “A Little Closer.” "The title means that Park will show her unique charms which can only be seen in a live performance," Moon Su-mi of T Entertainment, Park's agency, said. "She set up the concept of the concert, chose the songs to sing and arranged them." Also known as Park Jung-hyun in Korea, she made her debut in Korea with her first album "Piece" in 1998. She has released seven studio albums, including "10 Ways to Say I Love You" in 2009 ― her last work ― and many singles. Park is currently starring in MBC's hit, but troubled reality competition "I Am a Singer" as one of the contestants. The program featured seven top singers including Baek Ji-young, Yoon Do-hyun and Kim Bum-soo to contend for the best singer in Korea

Apr 12, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Sounds for spring: strings, wind, percussion

Concerts to feature Asian premiere of contemporary classics By Lee Hyo-won Think Stravinsky. “The Rite of Spring” awakens every cell in the listener’s body, as it evokes primitive sensibilities that are at once altogether new. Many pieces of contemporary classical music may appear to break away from traditions, but they continue the age-old human quest for music-making, here and now. Concerts beckon fans to explore now established modern classics by Stravinksy as well as Asian premieres of newer works: the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual symphonic performances will be held next week, while a zestful European duo of wind and percussion players will take to the local stage. Under the direction of the orchestra’s composer-in-residence Unsuk Chin, the Seoul Philharmonic’s Ars Nova Series has become an established event not only here but also overseas. It inspired the Philharmonia Orchestra’s contemporary music program “Today’s Music,” which Chin also overseas as its artistic director. The sixth edition of Ars Nova will feature two performances: the chamber section wi

Apr 11, 2011

Seoul Phil will be top intl seller

By Lee Hyo-won Venezuela’s revolutionary El Sistema shook up the international classical music scene as of late, and now, with icons like Lang Lang creating new waves, Asia is deemed a hot treasure trove. The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has been growing voraciously under the wing of Maestro Chung Myung-whun and became Thursday the first Asian ensemble to sign a long-term recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The revered label, which is part of Universal Music Group, expects the upcoming albums to become top sellers. “I will predict that (Seoul Philharmonic’s recordings) will be among our top selling orchestras in the world,” Costa Pilavachi, senior vice president, classical artists & repertoire, of Universal Music Group International, told reporters in Seoul, Thursday. The project marks not only new possibilities for the local orchestra but also reflects global trends in classical music. “The future growth of classical music will come much more from Asia ― from Korea, from China and other countries in this region ― than from Europe,” said Pilavachi. “It’s extr

Apr 8, 2011

Album review

Why we recommend it: The infectious cyber gum-pop is invariably a la Britney, but her vocal instrument shakes up the dance floor to a markedly different groove. Best tracks: “Till the World Ends,” “Inside Out” Britney Spears ‘Femme Fatale’ (Sony Music) Britney Spears returns with her seventh studio album and there’s almost an epiphanic effect in coming back with a big dance bang — after having been so shamelessly hassled by the media and ruled a bad mother in court. From beginning to end “Femme Fatale” is designed to make hips sway on the dance floor, pump up gym routines or add a little groove during subway commutes. She teams up with longtime partner, Swedish writer-producer Max Martin, for thoroughly mainstream fair with lots of wobbling bass and other auditory embellishments, her voice being one among many elements. The opener “Till the World Ends” feeds right into “Hold It Against Me,” which were both released as singles. There are no ballad breaks crooning about growing pains. As expected of finely crafted club mix, the disc offers moments of repose

Mar 29, 2011

Maroon 5 coming to Korea in May

By Kwon Mee-yoo Hyundai Card, the organizer of the “Super Concert” series, said Friday that Maroon 5, the five-member American rock band, has been chosen for their 14th Super Concert in May. The Seoul concert will be held at the Gymnastics Stadium in the Olympic Park on May 25, followed by a second at Busan KBS Hall on May 26. This is first time for a Super Concert to be held out of Seoul. Making their debut in 2002 with “Songs about Jane,” the group rose to stardom through songs such as “This Love” and “She Will Be Loved.” Their second album “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” was released in 2007 and the band’s single “Makes Me Wonder” was downloaded some 244,000 times in the first week of its release. The group’s two studio albums have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and the band has won three Grammy Awards — Best New Artist in 2005 and Best Pop Performance in 2006 and 2008. The long-awaited third studio album “Hands All Over” was released last September, again sweeping the world with their trendy yet creative music. Maroon 5’s first concert in Korea

Mar 27, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Seoul Philharmonic plays in memory of Japan quake

By Kwon Mee-yoo The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a 20-minute performance prior to their concert today, in memory of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that swept northeastern Japan earlier this month. The performance will be held in the lobby of the Concert Hall at the Seoul Arts Center, southern Seoul. It will start at 7:10 p.m., before the orchestra's "Explorer Series 1," conducted by Leo Hussain at 8 p.m. The mini concert is a voluntary movement by the members, including assistant concertmaster Wayne Lin, violinist Lim Ka-jin, violist Hung-Wei Huang and cellist Joo Yeon-sun. "Material aid is important, but as musicians, the best thing we can share with the people suffering from such a disaster is music," Lim said. "We hope this concert will give support to the quake victims and share the idea with our audience." They will play Tchaikovsky's "String Quartet No.1" movement 2 Andante Cantabile and Barber's "Adagio for Strings, Op.11." The "Explore Series" introduces masterpieces that are seldom played in Korea. The first concert today will feature

Mar 23, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Cho Yong-pil on nationwide concert tour

By Kwon Mee-yoo One of the greatest, iconic singers of Korea, Cho Yong-pil, 61, will hold concerts across the nation from May after a break of about two years. Known for presenting hit songs in a sophisticated manner and on spectacular stages Cho Yong-pil’s performances are sure to thrill audiences spanning generations. The concert is titled "2011 Cho Yong-pil and the Great Birth Tour Concert _ Song of Wind." He will tour with his band “The Great Birth.” Cho will fill the two and a half hour show with hit songs from "Return to Port Busan" and "Dear My Friend" to "The Leopard of Kilimanjaro" and "The Eye of the Sun." The concert tour will kick off in Seoul at Gymnastics Stadium, Olympic Park on May 7 and continue onto Uijeongbu Stadium on June 4, Cheongju Stadium on June 11 and the Changwon Exhibition Convention Center on June 18. In the latter half of the year, concerts are scheduled at Gyeongju Stadium on Sep. 24, Seongnam Sports Complex on Oct. 1, Kintex Ilsan on Nov. 19, Busan Exhibition and Convention Center on Nov. 26 and Exco Daegu on Dec. 3. The concert venue

Mar 22, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo

Relish red-hot romanticism: Paganini meets Piazzolla

By Lee Hyo-won “The violin is my mistress, but the guitar is my master,” Niccolo Paganini once said. The Italian composer may be best known as the violin virtuoso who forever changed the way the instrument was played, but the creative Romantic also left behind staple compositions for the classical guitar. In the Sonata Concertata Op. 61 the violin and guitar equally share devilishly difficult phrasings. Fans will be able to relish not only Paganini’s red-hot Romanticism but also Piazzolla’s passionate nuevo tango — a group of chamber musicians will explore the striking similarities between the “diabolical” 19th-century Italian music and Latin blood-infused, modern Argentine oeuvres in “Travelling Paganini — Journey to the Sun,” on Wednesday in Seoul. Korean-born Belgian guitarist Denis Sung-ho Janssens, who last year released a recording of Paganini’s “Ghiribizzi” under the Naxos label, will come together with a group of friends: violinist Lorenzo Gatto, winner of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, and cellist Young Song (Song Young-hoon), who is much love

Mar 13, 2011

Eagles to make Korea concert debut

By Lee Hyo-won The Eagles are expected to rock Seoul with a long-awaited local concert debut on March 15. During a 40-year career, the American rock band has won six Grammy Awards and sold over 120 million records worldwide. They are much loved for songs such as “Hotel California,” “Desperado,” “Heartache Tonight,” “The Long Run” and “I Can’t Tell You Why.” The upcoming tour, titled “Long Road Out of Eden,” is generating excitement as the two of the four original band members, Glenn Frey and Don Henley, will join Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit. Over 90 percent of the VIP tickets were snapped up on the day they went on sale here. The musicians will be accompanied by not only a massive crew of some 140 people but over 30 guitars in order to provide top-notch performances. “The Eagles concert is an important opportunity for Korea to prove to the world that it has become an important music market. At the same time it will be a chance for the local industry to be exposed to the latest trends of international performances,” said local concert organizer CJ E & M. The Eagle

Mar 11, 2011

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