Local singing legend blamed for hiking virus concerns with 24,000 fans at Daegu concerts People gather in front of EXCO in Daegu for Na Hoon-a's concert, July 16. YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanLegendary trot singer Na Hoon-a is facing public criticism after having drawn 24,000 fans to his concerts in Daegu amid concerns over rising COVID-19 cases across the country.Na, 74, held six concerts, titled “AGAIN,” at EXCO in Daegu's Buk District from July 16 to 18. The concert organizer limited each concert to 4,000 people and all six sold out. The concerts raised fresh concerns that they threatened public safety against the spread of the coronavirus. Some people took pictures or recorded videos of concertgoers lined up to get inside EXCO and leaving the venue after the shows, and posted them on social networks. The news of the concerts drew public criticism of the singer. Some condemned Na for going ahead with the concerts when other musicians have been cancelling performances to not let their shows become potential grounds of mass infection.Some criticisms also targeted the Daegu city government for having allowed the concerts. According to local reports, the city governmeJul 18, 2021By Ko Dong-hwan
'#BoycottZukerman' spreads online after master violinist's offensive remarks against Asians Pinchas Zukerman / Screenshot from the Manhattan School of Music's websiteBy Ko Dong-hwanThe hashtag, “#BoycottZukerman,” has recently been spreading online after Israeli-American violinist and violist Pinchas Zukerman was found to have made “anti-Asian remarks” during his online masterclass in June and other occasions.The movement surged despite apologies from Zukerman and the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) in New York, where he is a faculty member.“It was a culturally insensitive comment,” said the musician in a statement following mounting criticism that his remarks offended many Koreans, Japanese and Chinese musicians. “I want to personally apologize to the students.” Zuckerman also sent an email to his colleagues at the MSM saying, “I said the wrong thing and hurt many people.”MSM President James Gandre said, “Zukerman made inappropriate and abusive comments.” The president, however, sympathized with Zukerman's remorse, saying, “He will do better in the future.”Zukerman, 72, was involved in a maJul 14, 2021By Ko Dong-hwan
INTERVIEW 'Shamanic funk' band ADG7 carries on legacy of North Korean folk music 'Shamanic funk' band Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7) members / Courtesy of Lee Jong SamBy Kwak Yeon-sooFusion gugak has been enjoying a sudden heyday lately. There have been numerous and various efforts to creatively reinterpret gugak, or traditional Korean music. Young musicians have churned out new styles of gugak, mixing old and new, or East and West, for modern-day audiences. Unlike other fusion gugak groups such as Leenalchi or Coreyah that combine elements of traditional Korean music and Western pop music, Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7) uses only traditional Korean instruments to create sounds. The nine-member ensemble consists of three vocalists ― Hong Ok, Myeong Wol and Yoo Wol ― as well as daegeum (bamboo flute) player Kim Yak-dae, piri (double reed oboe) and saenghwang (mouth organ) player Lee Man-wol, ajaeng (seven-stringed bowed zither) player Grace Park, gayageum (12-string zither) player Weon Meondongmaru, and percussionists Chun Gung-dal and Sunwoo Barabarabarabam.ADG7's members refuse to be called traditionalists as they are passionate about reinventing traditional music for the mJul 14, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
INTERVIEW Japan-born ethnic Korean musician comforts minorities with music Gayageum player Park Soon-a / Courtesy of Park Soon-a Music By Park Ji-wonFor some, music is just something to enjoy. But for Park Soon-a, a 52-year-old player of the Korean traditional string instrument named gayageum, who was born in Japan as a third-generation ethnic Korean, largely referred to here as “Zainichi” Korean, and who learned the instrument in both Koreas, music is a way to find her identity and communicate with the world. It is also a means for her to comfort people who live in their home countries as aliens. Park is a rare musician having living experience in the two Koreas as well as in Japan: she was born in Japan, spent years in North Korea to learn gayageum and chose to acquire South Korean citizenship to pursue her professional career as a gayageum player. “As a Zainichi Korean, I've lived as a minority in all three countries. In Japan, I didn't have voting rights and wasn't part of the society. My life in North Korea was not very different. I Jul 12, 2021By Park Ji-won
INTERVIEW Inspired by Korean dramas, Swiss classical flutist initiates soundtrack project Flutist Philipp Jundt / Courtesy of Irene ZandelAward-winning classical musicians join K-drama soundtrack CD projectBy Park Ji-wonPhilipp Jundt, a flutist and professor at Neuchatel Conservatory in Switzerland, has become a huge fan of Korean dramas during his 12 years of living in Korea from 2008 to 2020 as an exchange professor. He first began to watch the TV series to improve his Korean language skills as well as to learn about Korean culture. But soon he found himself addicted to them, and watching dramas has become inseparable from his life.His friends teased him for his rare hobby, calling him “ajumma,” a term that refers to a middle-aged woman. The nickname fits, as in Korea, such women are often the most loyal audience for dramas. “My friends always make fun of the fact that I watch so many Korean dramas,” he said during a Zoom interview with The Korea Times on June 30. “I think Korean TV dramas have such a high standard. The quality (of K-drama music) is incredibly good. I think American TV series have really high standards but we don't have sucJul 5, 2021By Park Ji-won
'Not the end': Fans mark 50 years since Jim Morrison's death Fred Verheijden, left, and Hans van Schie of the Netherland wear shirts with the picture of late rock singer Jim Morrison at the Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, July 3. AP-YonhapRockers old and young cried, shared a drink and perhaps even a joint in a stylishly overgrown cemetery in Paris on Saturday, marking 50 years since the death of 1960s icon Jim Morrison. Dozens of fans of the frontman of psychedelic rock band The Doors, who decamped to the French capital in early 1971 and died shortly afterwards of a heart attack, flocked to his grave in an overcrowded corner of Pere Lachaise cemetery. "It's important because the music lives on... it's like the music is alive today, like 'Light My Fire' was recorded last week," says Michelle Campbell, a fan from England, recalling the band's greatest hit. Proving her point, 19-year-old music student Marius de la Brosse, with tousled long dark hair and baggy linen shirt, whips out a guitar and strums a few blues chords. "I like his vision of life," the French teenager says of Morrison. "He was a guy who never had a home, who travelled with dolJul 4, 2021
Steinway Piano Gallery opens in Seoul hoping to expand high-quality piano market Steinway Piano Gallery in Seoul / Courtesy of Cosmos CorporationBy Park Ji-wonThe German-American piano company Steinway & Sons has opened the largest exhibition hall for the instrument in Korea. The Steinway Piano Gallery opened in downtown Seoul in early June, displaying 18 Steinway pianos in the 600-square-meter space.Cosmos Corporation, one of the largest classical instrument companies in Korea and the exclusive distributor of Steinway & Sons products here, opened the gallery on the first floor of its headquarters building, presenting selected items worth some 4 billion won ($3.58 million), including a concert grand piano Steinway D-274 that costs a cool 295 million won. In addition to the analog pianos, it also displays a Spirio digital piano, which can automatically play up to 6,000 pieces mimicking actual techniques of performers such as pianists Kim Sun-wook and Vladimir Horowitz. It took months for Cosmos Corporation to win approval to open the store from the German-American piano company, which made strict orders about keeping the pianos in top shape while bringing Jun 28, 2021By Park Ji-won
David Bowie painting bought for $4 sold at auction for nearly $90,000 David Bowie / Courtesy of Sony Music Korea A painting by British pop icon David Bowie recently discovered and purchased for about $4 at a Canadian store that resells donated goods, has been sold at auction in Toronto for nearly $90,000, the auction house said Friday.The sale price blew past auction house Cowley Abbot's estimated $7,000 to $10,000 valuation of the diminutive artwork, which went to an American collector.Auctioneer Rob Cowley said a dozen bidders vied for the computer and acrylic collage on canvas that is part of the so-called D Head series of portraits of the Ziggy Stardust rocker himself, his friends, and others that he painted between 1995 and 1997.The 24 by 20 centimeter painting of a pale figure dressed in teal clothes, with teal and red hair on a crimson background, was originally sold through a website around 2001.It somehow found itself two decades later at a donations store in South River, Ontario ― 300 kilometers north of Toronto ― where the Jun 26, 2021
Korean traditional music lecture program in English to begin in July Poster for “Korean Music Lecture Series” / Courtesy of Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater By Park Ji-won Kim Hee-sun, professor at Kookmin University / Courtesy of Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater The year 2020 was may be the memorable year for Leenalchi, an alternative pop group consisting of four traditional pansori vocalists, two bassists and one drummer, as it rose to stardom with its addictive music. Many were surprised at the possibilities presented by traditional music thanks to the band's popularity, and Korea's rich music traditions, but not many know the origins and history of pansori, a traditional style of narrative music.For those who want to broaden their understanding, the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Theater is launching a new English-language lecture program on traditional Korean music to provide foreign residents of Korea with prJun 26, 2021By Park Ji-won
How conservatorships like Britney Spears' work In this 2021 April file photo, supporters of the FreeBritney movement rally in support of musician Britney Spears following a conservatorship court hearing in Los Angeles, California. AFP-YonhapBritney Spears told a judge at a dramatic hearing Wednesday she wants an end to the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years. Here's a look at how conservatorships operate, what's unusual about hers, and why she and so many fans want to (hash)FreeBritney.How do conservatorships work?When a person is considered to have a severely diminished mental capacity, a court can step in and grant someone the power to make financial decisions and major life choices for them.California law says a conservatorship, called a guardianship in some states, is justified for a ``person who is unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter,`` or for someone who is ``substantially unable to manage his or her own financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence.``The conservator, as the appointee put in charge is called, may beJun 25, 2021
