Coroner: Amy Winehouse died from too much alcohol

LONDON (AP) — Amy Winehouse drank herself to death. That was the ruling of a coroner's inquest into the death of the Grammy-winning soul singer, who died with empty vodka bottles in her room and lethal amounts of alcohol in her blood — more than five times the British drunk driving limit

Oct. 27, 2011

Exhibit examines American interest in Rembrandt

RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) ― The North Carolina Museum of Art has curated an exhibit of 30 works by Rembrandt from American collectors, which is especially appropriate considering that the museum’s first director was partly responsible for authenticating many works as painted by the Dutch artist that turned out not to be actual Rembrandts.“Rembrandt in America” opens Oct. 30 at the museum, then travels next year to Cleveland and Minneapolis.The 30 paintings are from private collections and mor

Oct. 26, 2011

Retrieving the past: ‘The Visit’

Lee Soo-in presents ‘han’-inspired adaptation of Durrenmatt’s 1956 tragic comedyCan one’s past be bought?Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby famously tried but failed. It is one of the things that money can’t seem to buy. As Oscar Wilde noted, “No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” Yet director Lee Soo-in’s new adaptation of Swiss playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt’s 1956 tragicomic play, “The Visit,” takes a different approach to the question, with a rather morbidly romantic take on the already gruesom

Oct. 26, 2011

Rock spirit keeps X Japan alive: leader

Yoshiki Hayashi says he likes K-pop groups such as Girls’ GenerationHeavy metal band X Japan has gone through many painful experiences including the deaths of two former members but its rock ‘n roll spirit will survive, said the group’s leader, drummer and pianist Yoshiki Hayashi.The act has been on a world tour in 2011 and the first leg of its Asia tour will be Seoul on Friday at the Olympic Park Gymnasium. It is the first time that the band is coming for a concert in Korea, after the cancellat

Oct. 26, 2011

The lowdown on Tom Waits

Similes, conspiracies, the creative process and ‘Bad as Me’PETALUMA, California ― Over the course of three hours of conversation at a roadside diner here called Pete’s Henny Penny, Tom Waits, the singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, actor and note taker, will offer the following similes and metaphors, seemingly at random though just as likely cataloged in his memory for future use: an aging musician as “a Popsicle in the sun on a bus bench in Florida”; the process of creation as “like making C

Oct. 25, 2011

Pianist Son at ease with multi-tasking

Pianist Son Yeol-eum is extremely busy doing concert tours, regularly writing columns and managing her Facebook and Twitter.But such multi-tasking keeps her motivated to play better concerts and communicate well with her fans, said Son. She did 13 concerts in September and plans to perform eight times in October and six in November.“When I’m on a stage, I try my best to enjoy it. I find it really fun to perform different repertoires at different concerts rather than doing the same things,” Son t

Oct. 24, 2011

Mega hallyu TV drama returns as musical

Musical ‘Winter Sonata’ brings back Yoon Suk-ho’s famous first-love saga“Is this Joon-sang?”“Is this Yoo-jin?”The famous lines are back, and so is the famous first-love saga. But this time it is on the stage, not the small screen.Few would argue that KBS’2002 mega hit drama “Winter Sonata” was not one of the first examples of hallyu. Thanks to its enormous popularity, the main actor Bae Yong-joon rose to heartthrob status in East Asia, while its filming location in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, h

Oct. 24, 2011

Will Ferrell wins top U.S. humor prize

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Will Ferrell, who refined his impersonation of President George W. Bush on the sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” and later took his presidential act to Broadway, was awarded the nation’s top humor prize Sunday night.The TV star went on to make movies and co-found the popular website FunnyorDie.com in a career that won the 44-year-old the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.It was the Bush impression, though, that might have

Oct. 24, 2011

SM Town wraps up world tour in N.Y.

S.M. Entertainment singers wrapped up their series of international concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday.The nation’s largest entertainment agency has held concerts at seven major international venues since the first SM Town concert in Seoul in August 2010. The 15,000 seats at Madison Square Garden ― priced between $44.50 and $204.50 per person ― all sold out, the agency said. The massive concert venue is a “dream stage” for many international pop stars. Michael Jackson, Beyon

Oct. 24, 2011

French first lady takes new baby girl home

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy leaves a clinic where she gave birth on Wednesday carrying her baby girl Giulia, in Paris, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. (AP-Yonhap News)PARIS (AP) -- Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is heading home with her newborn girl Giulia, the first baby born to a sitti

Oct. 24, 2011

Calendar

Exhibitions"The Court Painters of Joseon Dynasty": In celebration of its seventh anniversary, Leeum brought together 110 paintings by “hwawon,” or court painters of the Joseon Dynasty. It showcases works by master painters like Kim Hong-do, Jang Seung-eop, Shin Yun-bok and Kim Deuk-sin, who are well

Oct. 21, 2011

Music penetrates the soul at House Concert

Violinist Kim Eung-soo (left), cellist Kim Yong-sik (right) and pianist Chae Moon-young rehearse at the House Concert in Yul Haus in southern Seoul on Oct. 14.(Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)Musicians say they practice harder because of the closeness to their audienceAt a small underground recording

Oct. 21, 2011

eye-like

DJ Cam’s ’Seven’ offers sullen hip-hopDJ Cam “Seven”(Inflamable)There’s something dour about DJ Cam’s new album “Seven,“ with its slow and brooding fusion of hip-hop and jazz. The French mix master has an interesting approach to blending disparate sounds, but seldom do things develop into a full gal

Oct. 21, 2011

Chung Trio to remember mother in concert in Dec.

The Chung Trio, consisting of siblings Chung Myung-whun on the piano, violinist Chung Kyung-wha and cellist Chung Myung-wha, will hold a concert in December in memory of their late mother Lee Won-sook, CMI Korea said.Myung-whun has repeatedly said in press conferences this year that he would push fo

Oct. 20, 2011

Ancient tomb remains found at stadium site

Remains of Jugu grave, a type of tomb created during Korea’s Baekje Kingdom (B.C. 18-A.D. 660), found in the land secured for the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Stadium. (Cultural Heritage Administration)Remains of tombs dating back to Korea’s Baekje Kingdom (B.C. 18―A.D. 660) have been discovered at the

Oct. 20, 2011

Herald artday puts 100 prominent works up for auction

“Summer of Mt.Seorak” by Kim Chong-hak (artday)Artwork by well-known local and international artists including Lee U-fan, Park Soo-keun, Kim Whan-ki, Chun Kyung-ja, Kim Chong-hak, Oh Chi-gyun and Yayoi Kusama will be auctioned online starting Friday. Herald artday, a subsidiary of Herald Media group

Oct. 20, 2011

Czech pop star rocks ‘Hamlet’

Janek Ledecky’s musical returns for fourth run in SeoulClad in blue jeans and wearing his Ray-Bans, Janek Ledecky isn’t used to walking down the street without being recognized. “Here, I feel like I am a secret agent or something (because no one notices me),” the Czech pop superstar told The Korea H

Oct. 20, 2011