In 2023, a year without an artistic director, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will offer a season with a series of programs with 11 guest conductors including outgoing and incoming artistic directors. Osmo Vanska, whose term is ending this year, will continue the ‘Sibelius Cycle,’ a project to perform all of the Finish composer’s symphonies,’ until March next year, as a guest conductor. He began the project in April this year and will open SPO's next season with Sibeliu

Elisso Virsaladze, an 80-year-old Russian pianist, is set to bring her favorite Mozart and Chopin pieces to Seoul later this month, according to Kumho Art Hall on Wednesday. On Nov. 24, she will perform Mozart’s Fantasia for Piano in C minor, K. 396, 9 Variations on “Lison dormait” for Piano in C Major, K. 264 and Rondo for Piano No. 3 in A minor, K.511 as well as Chopin’s Waltz for Piano in A minor, B. 150, Op.posth. After the intermission, she will return with Mozart&rs

Sohn Min-soo, a professor and pianist, will join his alma mater, the New England Conservatory, as part of its piano faculty starting in fall 2023, the Boston-based music school announced last week. That means he will leave his current post at Korea National University of Arts, known as K-Arts, where the 45-year-old has been teaching pupils since March 2015. One of his students, Lim Yun-chan, at K-Arts became the youngest winner in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition’s history i

A ceremony of investiture of a metropolitan archbishop with the pallium, a symbol of a special relationship with the pope, took place on Monday for the first time in South Korea. Peter Chung Soon-taick, the Archbishop of Seoul, received the archiepiscopal pallium from Apostolic Nuncio to South Korea Alfred Xuereb during a mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul. The pallium is a symbol of the metropolitan archbishop’s jurisdiction in his own diocese and in the other dioceses of his ecclesi

Violinist Edwin E. S. Kim pays tribute to his second hometown Vienna, where the 45-year-old violinist spent almost half of his life, in his third solo album, “Mein Niener Herz.” The album, which translates to “My Vienna Heart,” includes 10 pieces by Fritz Kreisler, Ede Poldini, Franz Lehar and Franz Schubert, composers all associated with the Austrian capital. Kim arranged the track list, which starts with Kreisler’s Rondino on a theme by Beethoven and ends with Sch

Han Jae-min, a 16-year-old cellist, took home first prize from the International Isang Yun Competition on Saturday at the Tongyeong Concert Hall, South Gyeongsang Province. Earlier last week, the four finalists, including three South Korean cellists -- Han Jae-min, Joeng Woo-chan, Kim Deok-yong -- and Florian Pons from France, were announced. The finalists were required to perform one concerto with the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra led by Venezuelan conductor Christian Vasquez. Han performed Is

Following the deadly crowd crush that occurred during Halloween celebrations, President Yoon Suk-yeol announced a weeklong national mourning period through Saturday. In response, concerts, festivals and various events have been canceled, while sports events took place as scheduled, albeit in a somewhat subdued manner. Some Korean musicians have offered a reason for why music -- especially pop music -- is halted in times of grief and mourning. "In the eyes of state institutions, art must be

German hornist Felix Klieser is returning to South Korea this month for the fourth time, for his first ever solo recital here. In 2015, he was in Seoul to perform in a series of concerts celebrating the opening of the Kumho Art Hall Yonsei. He attended the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival in 2018 and 2019. And now his upcoming concert on Nov. 9 at Seoul Arts Center will be his first solo recital in the country. Klieser is often described as a musician who has overcome disability. He was

  In the aftermath of Saturday night’s crowd surge in Itaewon, citizens joined efforts to save the victims by performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and offering other assistance. Video clips that capture the chaotic scenes shortly after the incident happened show a number of volunteers performing CPR in the street, alongside paramedics and emergency rescuers. The videos show people calling out for help for medical experts or anyone who knew how to perform CPR. Lee Beom-suk, one of

Yang In-mo, the winner of this year’s International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, never thought he would be competing in a competition again. After all, he had already taken home the top prize from the prestigious Paganini Competition in 2015, at the age of 19, which was the first time the jury awarded that prize since 2006. Last December, the violinist decided to take part in the competition held in Helsinki in a desperate search for a change and a more active career and he surprise

Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Seattle is hosting “Runway to Partnership,” a series of hanbok fashion shows along with cultural performances this week to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Korea-US diplomatic relations. On Oct. 29, a Hanbok fashion show will take place at University of Washington, featuring Kumdanje and OUWR. About 40 Hanboks designed Kumdaje’s CEO and designer Lee Il-soon will be introduced. Kumdanje’s hanbok attires have been featured on

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled a plan to remodel the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, turning the cultural complex into a global cultural icon like the Sydney Opera House or New York's Carnegie Hall. The mayor announced the plan, which includes a new concert hall dedicated to the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, during his visit to Philharmonie de Paris, a complex of concert halls in Paris that opened in 2015, Sunday. "Philharmonie de Paris, which has an exceptional exterior desi

South Korean piano sensation Lim Yun-chan has joined the roster of London-based global performing arts management agency IMG Artists as he expands his activities globally, his Korean management MOC production announced Wednesday. In June, Lim won the gold medal at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the youngest winner ever, and became an instant sensation with his performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, which has been viewed 8.4 million times on YouTu

The former presidential office compound of Cheong Wa Dae will be turned into a classical music chamber in November, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday. Korea's four top classical artists will take turns performing in front of 100 people at the former state reception house Yeongbingwan. Kicking off the series, pianist Kim Sun-wook will perform Schubert’s Four Impromptus and Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor on Nov. 1. On Nov. 4, pianist Sunwoo Yewon and the

Korea National University of Arts, known as K-Arts, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this week, aims to turn itself into a global institution attracting foreign students, its president, Kim Dae-jin, said Wednesday. “Thirty years ago, K-Arts was established to provide top quality education so that Korean students would not have to go abroad to study -- a goal that not many believed back then,” Kim said. “For the next 30 years, we want to become an institution sought after

When celebrated pianist Andras Schiff returns to South Korea in November after three years of pandemic-caused delays, the longest gap since he started performing in the country in 2008, the Hungarian-born Austro-British classical pianist said he will bring an "element of surprise." In the past recitals in Korea, he performed a wide range of works by Bach, Schumann, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Brahms. Departing from his usual repertoire, he will perform "something out of Bach, Haydn

"Alegria," a long-running contemporary circus production by Cirque Du Soleil, unveiled its brand-new version on Thursday in Seoul under the Big Top set up at Seoul Sports Complex in Jamsil, eastern Seoul. "Alegria: In a New Light" is the seventh production of Canada-based Cirque Du Soleil to be introduced in South Korea, following "Quidam" in 2007 and 2015, the previous version of "Alegria" in 2008, "Varekai" in 2011, "Michael Jackson: The

Korean concert pianist Kim Sun-wook and conductor Kirill Karabits met for the first time in 2008 in Seoul when they performed with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Karabits recalled being overwhelmed by Kim’s playing and musicality. “Since then, we've become close friends and regularly perform together,” Karabits said in a recent email interview. The two have taken the stage together several times, including Kim's debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2019.

Leenalchi, the group that took South Korea by storm with “Tiger Is Coming” in 2020, is back with “Mul Mit” with a lot of pressure on their shoulders this time. The sensational success of “Tiger Is Coming” has kept the band busy for the past two years as the members continued to experiment with what the band could offer. But that means a lot more ears and eyes have been anticipating their new project. “We feel a lot of pressure but hope people can enjoy

South Korean publishers are returning to the Frankfurt Book Fair with the Korean Pavilion for the first time since 2019. The Korean Publishers Association will present 24 Korean publishing houses including the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, NE Books and Darakwon at the collective stand that was inspired by the concept of “home.” “Home was where you separated from others to protect yourself from external risks during the pandemic. This time, we wanted to look at &ldq