Pianist Kim Su Yeon, the first Asian winner of the Concours Musical International de Montréal, told reporters Tuesday she hopes to broaden her repertoire as Kumho Art Hall’s artist-in-residence for 2023 and meet Korean audiences. Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, the operator of the venue, selects a classical musician under the age of 30 in the early stages of their career as its artist-in-residence, providing the musician with a regular performance stage. From 2013 to 2022, 10 up

Jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun spent her first ever free year feeling anxious. As the pandemic persisted with no end in sight, the situation understandably became very daunting for a performer who hit the stage at least 100 times a year. Considering her new circumstances, she thought she might have to find a new occupation. “I felt isolated on an island, especially since the musicians I had worked with in the past 10 years were all foreigners. I was contemplating whether I should change jobs a

A 167-year-old historic French orchestra is set to perform in Korea this month with two young music masters at the fore. The Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Strasbourg -- a French city on the border with on Germany -- will perform a repertoire that shows the musical connection between France and Russia, its music director Aziz Shokhakimov told reporters on Thursday. The orchestra will perform Bizet’s Carmen Suite No.1, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.2 and Mussorgsky&rsqu

The outgoing music director and conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Osmo Vanska, is unable to lead his last concert as music director due to a fall injury, the orchestra said on Friday. Vanska was originally scheduled to take the stage for the orchestra's year-end repertoire of Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ‘Choral’ on Dec. 14, 15 and 16. He suffered a fall, rendering him unable to travel, SPO said. It was supposed to be his first and last chance to

The Army retired a scout dog, famed for his role in locating a missing teenager in 2019, from surveillance duty due to old age on Thursday, officials said, concluding his storied decadelong career. The armed service held a retirement ceremony for Dalgwan at the 32nd Infantry Division's maneuver battalion unit in Sejong, about 120 km south of Seoul. The 10-year-old German Shepherd rose to national prominence in 2019 when he played a pivotal role in the search mission for then-14-year-old Cho

Jeon Kwang-hoon, a right-wing pastor who once served as the president of the Christian Council of Korea, has been expelled from the national evangelical alliance. The council, a member of the World Evangelical Alliance, convened on Tuesday and labeled Jeon of Sarang Jeil Church as a pseudo-religious figure based on a study by CCK’s committee on pseudo-religions. The study was launched after several requests last year and was published last month. The report said that most of the 15 claim

In releasing an all-Korean crossover album “In Love: Korean Love Poem,” internationally acclaimed soprano Sumi Jo said Tuesday that she hopes that the genre of Korean art songs, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, can be enjoyed more globally like K-pop. “Korean art songs were introduced a century ago, but people still find Korean art songs difficult. I paid a lot of attention to the singing method and arrangement and poured all my passion, soul and time into it

Celebrated Korean soprano Jo Sumi took the stage on Sunday to celebrate the 15th anniversary of a charity concert program at The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. On Sunday, Jo along with the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Metropolitan Junior Chorus, haeguem player Nary, tenor Jang Joo-hoon and crossover tenor Chris Young performed for a special audience of 2,500 at the invitation-only concert. Among those invited were multicultural families, the underprivileged and the disabled.

As a teenager, Chun Byong-geuk, the first vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, would watch Western movies and listen to classical music as well as trot, which was heavily influenced by Japanese music. Now he, 58, still loves going to classical music concerts but finds himself enjoying more K-dramas and movies. Chun said it is not just because he feels obliged, but because he is genuinely intrigued by the unique storylines and riveting characters. Chun, appointed in May, oversees culture

The time has come to bring out the Christmas tree and deck the halls with holly. Online shopping has never been so convenient, but Christmas markets are always worth a visit if only to enjoy the holiday atmosphere. Here are two places you can purchase Christmas decorations at relatively lower prices. Namdaemun Market, a large traditional market located next to Shinsegae Department Store in central Seoul, has a wide variety of shops, vendors and wholesalers offering a seemingly endless array of g

The live recording album of pianist Lim Yun-chan and the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra became a "platinum-selling" album within hours of its release, Universal Music announced Wednesday. “Beethoven, Isang Yun, Barber” sold more than 10,000 copies upon its release Monday, a testimony to Lim’s skyrocketing popularity. A platinum-seller had been expected as presales of the album had reached nearly 10,000, according to an official at Universal Music on Wednesday. In Korea,

Pianist Kim Su Yeon has been selected as Kumho Art Hall’s artist-in-residence, according to the Kumho Cultural Foundation, the operator of the venue, on Tuesday. As the artist-in-residence, Kim will present four performances under the theme “Melodies: Paintings and Music” throughout next year. Kim’s first concert will take place on Jan. 5 at the venue’s New Year’s concert “Sketch.” She will return with “Blending” on April 27 and &ldqu

The steps that 18-year-old pianist Lim Yun-chan are taking after his sensational win at the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in June are perhaps far from the expectations of many. Instead of releasing his own album, his first work post-competition is a collaboration with the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra. He has also refused to play what he performed at the competition during his upcoming Seoul recital on Dec. 10. During a press conference on Monday, Lim shared the unique thought pr

Anyone who is familiar with Korean surnames would assume that the German pianist Christopher Park has some Korean roots. And, indeed, he has. He was born to a German mother and a Korean American father in 1987, but it wasn’t until 2009 that he was able to make his first trip to South Korea. The opportunity came through a chance encounter of Park’s elementary school teacher and Pete Song, who runs a classical music production company, Pete Music, on a train in Germany in 2008. Upon he

A fan of pianist Lim Yunchan took a day off from work on Nov. 16 and sat down in a PC room, hoping that the high-speed internet cafe could help her outrun the competition looking to buy tickets to a much-anticipated recital by the pianist. To prepare for the bid, she read several online posts and even signed up for a paid membership for the Seoul Art Center, where the 18-year-old pianist will take the stage on Dec. 10 for a one-time concert for about 2,400 people. As soon as the ticketing open

Ahn Ho-sang, CEO of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, said Hallyu’s power comes from the artistic uniqueness of Korean people and fierce competition. Delivering a lecture titled "Korean Traditional Art and K-culture" at the Singaporean Ambassador's residence in Seoul on Tuesday, the theater veteran with almost four decades of experience, said Hallyu is not likely to die down soon as it is beginning to be recognized as a distinctive genre. "I think that the essenc

Yang Bang-ean, a composer, pianist and producer born and based in Japan who holds Korean citizenship, frequently used the words “development” or “evolution” when answering reporters' questions on Monday. When he decided to rearrange “Echoes,” which he composed in the early 2000s, for his new album, it was because he “had to develop further this personally important piece.” The 62-year-old also said he wants daily evolution and to keep showin

David Reiland, the Artistic Director of the Korean National Symphony Orchestra, stands next to Ahn Yeo-ryeong, one of the four up-and-coming conductors selected for a workshop organized by the orchestra. Ahn conducts Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor in front of Reiland and a group of audience members who keenly observed the interaction between the two conductors as well as with the orchestra. Ahn shows conspicuous movements and expressions, to which the Luxembourgian conductor who has bee

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea on Monday announced the launch of Korea Literature Wave, an online platform linking the country’s literature and the global market. “Even though the interest in translation and Korean literature is growing, overseas publishers do not necessarily know which works to purchase, while domestic publishers do not know to whom they can sell,” Kwak Hyo-hwan, president of the LTI Korea, said during a press conference on Monday. “We h

South Korean pianist Lee Hyuk became joint first prize winner of the 2022 Long Thibaud International Competition, along with Japanese pianist Kamei Masaya, according to its organizers Sunday. Lee is the second Korean pianist to win the prize, following Lim Dong-hyek, who won the prize in 2001. The third prize was given to American pianist Davidman Michael. The 22-year-old will receive 27,500 euros ($28,300) in prize money in addition to an opportunity to participate in about 20 concerts and mu