Christina Aguilera to Perform in JuneBy Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Grammy-award winning superstar Christina Aguilera will hold two concerts in Seoul on June 23 and 24, as part of her ``Back to Basics" world tour. Aguilera's concerts at the Olympic Gymnasium in southeastern Seoul will be her first solo concert in Asia. She kicked off her North American tour with a concert in Houston on February 20, and will end the tour with a performance in Florida on May 5. Last year, she released her third solo album ``Back to Basics," which featured a more mature image and sound. Moving away from her signature pop style, Aguilera experimented with a modern mix of jazz, blues and soul music. Aguilera made her debut in the entertainment industry in 1993, as part of the New Mickey Mouse Club, alongside Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. In 1999, she released her first single ``Genie in a Bottle," which went straight to number 1 on the music charts in the United States, Britain and Canada. With her strong vocal range, Aguilera distinguished herself from other female pop stars like Spears and Jessica SimpsoApr 24, 2007
St. Lawrence Quartet to Hold First Local ConcertBy Bae Keun-min Staff Reporter The world's renowned chamber ensemble St. Lawrence String Quartet will hold its first concert in Korea this Friday at the Kumho Art Hall in central Seoul. The Stanford University-based quartet has performed in 2,000 concerts around the world over the past 18 years, showing off special chemistry in the music of its members and their flamboyant techniques. Members of the ensemble include violinists Geoff Nuttall and Scott St. John, violist Lesley Robertson, and cellist Christopher Costanza. Regarding the essence and corporate persona of the Canadian quartet, the New York Times said, ``One is the free-spirited casualness of its appearance; the other is a sound that has just about everything one wants from a quartet, most notably precision, warmth and an electricity that conveys the excitement of playing whatever is on their stands at the moment.'' The ensemble, about whose performance the Washington Post said is ``emotionally highly charged but never out of control,'' began its performing career after winning the Banff International SApr 22, 2007
Ivy Blamed for Her Bodyguards’ Actions By Kim Tae-jong Staff Reporter Bodyguards of popular female singer Ivy allegedly roughed up her fans last Friday at a high school in Chungjongno, causing a spat of the angry Internet messages. The accident took place as three bodyguards tried to protect the singer from some 70 high school students at Inchang High School after she walked away from her concert. The students surrounded Ivy as she was getting into her car parked in the schoolyard after she finished filming ``School of Rock'' for music television Mnet. The program shows popular singers holding surprise concerts for middle and high school students. The students involved in the accident claimed that they were hit and verbally abused as they tried to see Ivy close-up. They claimed the situation was not so dangerous as to cause such actions. They also claimed that their school uniforms were torn and mobile phones broken. They said the similar verbal and physical assaults took place when students tried to approach the stage during the concert. Some of schoolteachers, who were attempting to control thApr 22, 2007
Jazz Up Spring With Seoul Jazz FestBy Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Enthusiastic Korean jazz fans have contributed to Seoul becoming one of the favorite venues for world-renowned jazz musicians with a growing number of jazz concerts and festivals taking place every year. Highly acclaimed jazz artists will meet with local fans at the first annual Seoul Jazz Festival at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul from May 31 to June 3. During the four-day festival, world-prestigious musicians, including The Crusaders' Joe Sample, soul vocalist Randy Crawford and the Pat Metheny Trio, will entertain Korean jazz buffs. Notable Japanese fusion bands such as Dimension, Casiopea and T-Square have formed a project group, Dimension & J-Fusion All Stars, to present flamboyant jam sessions. The festival is designed not only to make the festival popular among jazz maniacs but also to introduce the soulful music to ordinary citizens. During the festival, its organizer will offer a glass of wine to all audience members to further enhance the festive mood. Apr 22, 2007
La Speranza, Korea’s Il DivoBy Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Il Divo has won over the hearts of millions of fans around the world with their beautiful voices and handsome looks. Now, La Speranza, a group of good-looking Korean male vocalists, is giving the international superstars a good run for their money. La Speranza calls itself Korea's first all-male popera group. Formed in December 2005, the group is composed of baritone Yang Jeong-yeol, bass Shin Sang-jin and tenors Chang Jin-ho and Chung Hyun-chul. Even without releasing a debut album, La Speranza is slowly gaining fans for their strong vocals and unique music style. Inevitably, La Speranza is always likened to Il Divo, which is also a four-member, all-male pop operatic vocal group. The group's name itself is taken from the Italian word for ``hope,'' another similarity with Il Divo, whose name means ``divine male performer'' in Italian. Yang, La Speranza's leader, said the group wants to differentiate itself from Il Divo. ``There are similarities and differences between La Speranza and Il Divo, but the main difference is that we doApr 20, 2007
Album ReviewsRingo Sheena `Japanese Manners (Heisei Fuzoku)' EMI Japanese singer Ringo Sheena is back with her fifth solo album, offering an eclectic mix of old style jazz, classical and even electronic music. She worked with composer and violinist Neko Saito on the album, which is also the soundtrack to the period Japanese film ``Sakuran." Though the album seems like it is full of remakes, since 7 out of 13 tracks are updated versions of Sheena's old songs including ``Stem," ``Gamble" and ``Consciously," she performs a particularly charming version of Rosemary Clooney's classic ``Mangos," even adding French to the English lyrics. Her raspy, sexy voice is perfectly suited for the enchanting songs, which seem to also be infused with modern musical elements. -Cathy A. Garcia Apr 17, 2007
Cuban Singer in SeoulBy Chung Ah-young Staff Reporter Cuban singer Omara Portuondo, the legendary female vocalist of the Buena Vista Social Club, will hold a concert in Seoul on May 1. The concert comes one-and-a-half years after Portuondo's last performance at Yonsei University in Seoul in 2005, where she collaborated with 13 musicians. For this year's concert, she will bring six band members _ guitarist Swami Jr., double bassist Fabian Garcia, pianist Emilio Morales, violinist Osiris Valdes, percussionist Andres Coayo and trumpetist Roberto Garcia. She will sing not only Cuban and pop songs, including ``Chan Chan,'' but also some Korean songs. The audience will be given wine and roses by the concert organizer to boost the romantic atmosphere of the show. The 77-year-old diva will present exotic rhythms fused with American and European music flavors, creating her own unique ``colors'' without electronic effects. Portuondo is the only surviving member of Buena Vista as other members _ guitarist Compay Segundo, pianist Ruben Gonzalez, and lead vocal Ibrahim Ferrer _ have already passeApr 17, 2007
Crossover Pianist Maksim Promises Exciting ConcertBy Cathy Rose A. Garcia Staff Reporter Whenever someone mentions classical-pop crossover music, the name Maksim Mrvica always comes up. Mrvica, who will hold two concerts in Seoul on April 25 and 26, is once again expected to dazzle Korean fans with his mix of classical and electronica music. Even with his training as a classical pianist, Mrvica is passionate about doing crossover music. ``Whenever I perform concerts, I like to mix classical repertoire and crossover together. … Basically, there is nothing different. But I feel more dynamic when I play a crossover repertoire,'' he said, in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times. The darkly handsome Mrvica said he has performed several times in Seoul in the last few years but each time is a memorable experience because of the intense reception he receives from his fans. ``Whenever I come to Korea, I enjoyed every moment with great people and had fun. I would like to say that Korean audience's reaction is very intense and supportive to my performance. I love that reaction,'' he said. For his concerts, Mrvica sApr 17, 2007
Wagner Opera ‘Parsifal’ to Premiere in KoreaBy Bae Keun-min Staff Reporter The celebrated German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) reportedly said that no theater but the Bayreuth Festspielhaus would stage his opera ``Parsifal’’ thereby preventing the widespread performance of his last piece. Although it is not only for this reason, Korean fans have not had occasion to savor the beautiful score and story for the past 125 years since its premiere in 1882 in the German theater. However, patience will finally pay off. ``Parsifal’’ will premiere in Korea at the Seoul Arts Center in April next year in celebration of the center’s 20th anniversary. Moreover, Katharina Wagner, the great-granddaughter of the late composer, will direct the performance. She will revive the version that her father, the celebrated director Wolfgang Wagner, produced for the 1989-2001 production at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. The 28-year-old director expects the messages in the piece will be successfully delivered to audiences here as it deals with universal questions on humanity, Wagner said in a press conference in Seoul last week. Apr 16, 2007
Pianist Melnikov to Play ProkofievBy Bae Keun-min Staff Reporter Young virtuoso Alexander Melnikov is returning to Seoul to present his flamboyant techniques and unique interpretation of piano numbers. Melnikov, 34, often dubbed one of true successors of the Russian pianism along with Evgeny Kissin, will hold a concert in the Seoul Arts Center on April 28. It will be his fourth visit to Korea. He will present Frederik Chopin’s 8 preludes (Op.28), Robert Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes (Op.13), Alexander Scriabine’s ``Fantasie’’ (Op.28) and Sergei Prokofiev Sonata No. 6. Prokofiev numbers are his specialty in his wide range of repertoires. Melnikov, born in Moscow in 1973, began his music studies at age 6 at Moscow’s Central Music School. A number of prizes at renowned international piano competitions such as the Schumann International Piano Competition in 1989 and the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in 1991 put him up on the map. However, Melnikov’s special artistic ties with the late Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) gave him more opportunities. When Richter became too debilitated to perform in 1994, hApr 15, 2007