Pop Icon Seo Taiji Kicks Off Live TourBy Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Iconic pop star Seo Taiji wowed a crowd of about 10,000 at a concert at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan Saturday night, as he embarked on a national tour to promote his upcoming eighth album. The star's last tour, titled ``Zero,'' was in 2004. Seo's 2009 concert tour, titled ``The Mobius,'' kicked off on an outdoor stage at the Peace Plaza at 7 p.m., along with performances by group Vassline and singer Pia. Seo took the stage at around 8:15 p.m. in a black suit and dazzled the audience with ``T'ikT'ak,'' a song included on his best-selling eighth single, Atomos Part Moai. According to Seo's agency, the 10,000 fans who attended the show varied from teenagers to the middle aged. Seo performed ``FM Business'' and ``Bermuda'' for the excited crowd and sang ``Juliet,'' the title track of the Atomos Part Secret, the second single off his upcoming album. He also unveiled a new track, ``Replica,'' which will be released on the new album. He said that ``Replica'' sounds a little bit more difficult than ``Juliet.'' ``But I made `RepliJun 14, 2009
Shin Hyun-su to Debut With Washington SymphonyBy Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter Shin Hyun-su, South Korea's proud winner of the 2008 Long-Thibauld Competition, will make her debut Friday with the Ivan Fischer-led National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C. in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. ``My heart flutters,'' she said about playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor with the esteemed American ensemble in a recent Korea Times interview. ``I think this concert will be different from my past performances. I've been listening to a lot of Maestro Ivan Fischer's recordings, and I really like his style.'' But the 21-year-old looked tired. ``I have a terrible cold,'' she said, smiling weakly. In fact, she was suffering from a high fever when she won first grand prize at the Long-Thibauld. She also took home the Orchestra and Recital prizes. ``I think it was just a matter of concentration,'' she said pensively. In 2001, Shin's Russia-trained countryman Lim Dong-hyek became the youngest ever winner in the history of the Long-Thibauld's piano section. Born and raised her whole life in Korea, Shin is among the clan of ``purJun 14, 2009
Album ReviewsBob Dylan `Together Through Life' (SonyBMG) Music legend Bob Dylan has released his 46th album ``Together Through Life.'' Produced by Jack Frost, Dylan began creating the album after composing a new song, ``Life is Hard,'' for an upcoming film by French director Oliver Dahan (``La Vie En Rose''). Dylan seems to have been getting better and better in the last few years, with all the critical acclaim and awards. The album offers more of the same haunting tunes and poetic lyrics sung with a raspy voice. Top picks include ``Jolene,'' ``I Feel a Change Comin' On,'' and ``My Wife's Home Town'' (where Dylan laughs as he sings ``hell is my wife's home town''). -Cathy Rose A. Garcia Various Artists `Bae Cheol-soo's Music Camp' (SonyBMG, Warner, Universal) To commemorate 7,000 shows of ``Bae Cheol-soo's Music Camp'' on MBC FM, the influential radio host has released three compilation albums filled with his picks for the best songs of all-time. Bae gathered more than a 100 songs from the 1970s to present from different genres, and from the top three record labels. There aJun 9, 2009
DJ Miles Maeda Plays Seoul FridayBy Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Frenetic dance parties and peaceful meditation might seem like polar opposites. But American DJ Miles Maeda found the perfect balance in his life with dance music and yoga. Maeda, one of the pioneers in the Chicago club and rave scene in the 1990s, also teaches yoga and meditation. ``I was becoming very uninspired in Chicago my last year there. So I decided to move to the West Coast and study yoga and meditation. I was surprised how many doors it opened in my life. I felt healthier, happier, and my creativity was at a totally new level. It has also helped me immensely living life as a yogi and DJ which seems quite opposite, yet creates a perfect balance for me,'' he told The Korea Times, in an email interview. Described as ``once a well-kept secret'' in the house music scene, Maeda has been making his presence felt in the club scene all over the world. He's been the resident DJ at the legendary Smartbar in Chicago for the last 12 years, and has ventured into two projects ― DJ Evolution, dealing with DJ-ing and music production; Jun 8, 2009
Young Asian Artists Dominate Van CliburnBy Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter FORT WORTH, Texas ― Son Yeol-eum became the second South Korean to win a top award at the presitigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition when its 13th quadrennial edition came to an end Sunday. The 23-year-old won the silver medal, while Japan's Nobuyuki Tsujii and China's Haochen Zhang, shared the gold medal. No third prize or crystal award was given. The three winners each receive, in addition to a $20,000 cash prize, a three-year management contract with the Van Cliburn Foundation for concert engagements and album recordings for the Harmonia Muni label. Pianist Van Cliburn, who turns 75 this summer, handed out the medals himself in the award ceremony at Bass Hall. In a press conference following the ceremony, the three top prizewinners said they were happy. One journalist pointed out to Son that she was one of the few females in the competition. ``Personally, I don't really prefer to categorize something… I am sure there are no differences between men and women, or nationality or whatever,'' she said. Son, who was born andJun 8, 2009
D-Day Approaching for Cliburn CompetitorsBy Lee Hyo-won Korea Times Correspondent FORT WORTH, Texas ― The 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is underway through Sunday, and the six competitors have nearly completed the three-part final round. Son Yeol-eum, one of the four South Korean contestants to make it to the finals, wrapped up her program Saturday afternoon. The 23-year-old was the first finalist to finish her bid for a prize. After giving an impressively thematic and well-rounded 50-minute recital round Thursday, she gripped the crowd Friday with an engrossing rendition of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2. While one music critic said her strong touches were a bit ``too Brahms'' for her taste, others commented that her performance was most affecting. One audience member, John Stasikowsky, a Fort Worth resident who is originally from Poland, gasped it was ``the best Chopin 2nd I have ever heard.'' ``She expressed (Chopin's) Polish spirit,'' said the piano lover who takes master classes at the Texas Christian University. ``Yesterday's Chopin was wonderful,'' exclaimed Maestro James Conlon, who leJun 7, 2009
Blind Pianist Paints Vivid Music at CliburnBy Lee Hyo-won Korea Times Correspondant FORT WORTH, Texas ― The final round of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is underway and one of the six finalists, Japan's 20-year-old Nobuki Tsujii, is attracting special attention. Blind since birth, Tsujii states his firm belief that ``there are no barriers in the field of music.'' Japanese music critic Nahoko Gotoh, who writes for ``Ongaku no tomo'' magazine, said Tsujii communicated through the piano before he learned to speak, which came rather late, around age five or six. In a brief Q&A session with reporters backstage Saturday following his performance, Tsujii gave rather simple explanations for his work. He paid attention to ``sensitive tones'' for the Chopin piece and then offering something ``bolder'' for the Rachmaninov. He chooses his repertoire according to what he likes, and then consults with his teacher. He likes to communicate with the audience. Warm support from the people around him helped him give his top performance. Frankly, what he had to say proved to be of little consequence for aJun 7, 2009
Who Will Win Cliburn Competition?By Lee Hyo-won Korea Times Correspondent Fort Worth, TEXAS ― The third and final round of the Van Cliburn took off Tuesday, with six finalists of the original 29 vying for the prizes in a 50-minute recital and two concerti of his/her choice. Indeed, just as Alann Sampson, the Cliburn's chairperson, said, this year's competition pool is ``remarkable with some of the highest level of artistry and talent.'' Tuesday's round began with Italy's 27-year-old Mariangela Vacatello, who had stood out in the preliminary round even when viewed through the Web cast videos. But her nerves got the better of her perhaps, as some of her clean notes were jammed up in Bach's Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971 and then rushed in Chopin's Rondo in E-flat major, Op. 16. In the second half, the tall, swanky figure of a 24-year-old Bulgarian emerged. Evgeni Bozhanov, already popular with the crowd, seized the stage with an electric presence, and a likewise catchy, interpretation of Chopin's 1st Concerto ― it was definitely something out of the box, but Chopin purists may reject the heavily acJun 5, 2009
Album ReviewsEminem `Relapse' (Universal Music) Eminem once again brings out the skeletons from his obviously overcrowded closet in ``Relapse,'' his first album in five years. He comes clean about his struggles with drug addiction and other personal problems, and listening to his self-lacerating lyrics and rants, it's almost too much to handle. As always, he gets a kick out of skewering fellow celebrities Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian in ``We Made You'' (the music video is hilarious, too). Eminem proves he still has the rap skills and killer rhymes to put newcomers to shame, but somehow it feels like we've heard it all before. -Cathy Rose A. Garcia Manic Street Preachers `Journal for Plague Lovers' (SonyBMG) British rock group Manic Street Preachers makes a strong comeback with their ninth album ``Journal For Plague Lovers.'' With the help of star producer Steve Albini, the album was based on lyrics written by member Richey Edwards before he mysteriously disappeared in 1995. James Dean Bradfield's voice is crisp and clear, while bassist Nicky Wire andJun 2, 2009
Kelly Clarkson Talks About New AlbumBy Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter It's been nearly seven years since Kelly Clarkson won American Idol in 2002 and her music career has had its share of ups and downs. But with her latest album ``All I Ever Wanted,'' she's proven she still has that something special that made America fall in love with her and made her the Idol. Her fourth album spawned the hit songs ``My Life will Suck Without You'' and ``I Do Not Hook Up,'' and overall has a more diverse sound, with pop, rock and dance songs. The new sound is perhaps due to Clarkson working closely with new producers and songwriters including One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Howard Benson. ``On each record, you kind of grow, you meet more people, and you hear more music. Like One Republic came out and I had never heard Ryan's stuff before, I couldn't wait to work with them. Clive Davis actually introduced us in a label meeting we were having, and we hit it off. We wrote like five or six songs together and some of them made it on the album. It was just fun to work with him. You meet new Jun 2, 2009