Violinist Edwin E.S. Kim is embarking on an unprecedented journey with 30 concerts, collectively titled “Dots and Lines,” aiming to explore 300 years of violin history. “By mathematical definition, a point is a place in space; a line is a set of points, and a surface is a set of lines,” Kim said during a press conference Tuesday. “I thought it would be intriguing to showcase how the works of gre...

“Kpop,” an original musical about what it takes to be a K-pop star, is hitting Broadway in October after five years as a smaller scale show that has grown in popularity in tandem with the global rise of Korean music. “Kpop” premiered as an immersive off-Broadway show in the fall of 2017. The production received the 2018 Richard Rodgers Award, three Lucille Lortel Awards, including best musical, ...

The DJ made his first visit to Korea in December last year, even shooting the song’s music video with Kim and Son at Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, which was designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site for its historical value. He felt it was a “natural fit” to bring together their sounds on the project. He is seeking a greater opportunity to expand his base in Korea, where he can link up with...

Clarinet player Cho Sung-ho discovered his passion for wind instruments when he played the recorder for the first time in fifth grade. He had been exposed to music from an early age by his mother who was a piano teacher, and by his maternal grandfather who was a professional violinist. “For some reason that I couldn’t pinpoint, I wasn’t a big fan of the violin or the piano, but once I played the...

Lang Lee highlighted the bleak side of the Korean music scene where even an award-winning musician faces extreme financial difficulties. “Artists should get reasonable payments when they share thoughts or deliver performances in front of an audience. It’s our ‘paid work,’” she said, suggesting that she should be paid 300,000 won for media interviews, like the one conducted with The Korea Herald....

Her creative process is well known. She only handwrites her compositions and conducts the entire creative process only in her head. In addition, she said the title of each piece is as important as the music itself. “I would say 30 percent of my energy is put into the naming of the piece,” she added. Chin was born in Gimpo in 1961. She taught herself piano at a young age before studying at Seoul...

Even though a few performances were canceled and last-minute changes were made up until the opening day, this year’s TIMF will feature more than 20 unique programs during over nine days under the theme of “Vision in Diversity,” which the director said will be the underlying motif that she will continue to keep in her mind. “Music is a communication tool that goes beyond the boundaries of everyth...

After the audience showed their appreciation for the veteran artist and his emotional performance, SPO performed the last piece of the night, “New World Symphony in Pops,” a reinterpretation of Dvorak’s “From the New World.” Applause filled the concert hall, bringing out “Hand in Hand,” the official song of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, as an encore. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the ...

Cellist Mischa Maisky is coming back to South Korea for the first time in five years, with three recitals in April and May. The cellist will be accompanied by pianist Lily Maisky, who is also his daughter. Maisky and his daughter will kick off a three-concert series at Gunsan Arts Center in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, on April 29. After performing at the Seoul Arts Center on May 1, the duo w...

Ukrainian and Russian colleagues believe music, culture stronger than politics and war

Violinists Jeon Chae-ann and Kim Dong-hwi, violist Jang Yoon-sun and cellist Park Seong-hyeon make up Arete Quartet which was founded in 2019. The ensemble is this years Kumho Rising Star. The four members are students at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. Last year, Arete Quartet won the 2021 Prague Spring Festival Competition’s Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Ruzickova Prize, awarded...

In May 2020, Seori made a splash debut, coming to global spotlight with her first EP “?depacse ohw.” Among her fans, she has been dubbed the “Korean Billie Eilish.” “I grew up listening to Avril Lavigne’s songs. She has been one of my favorite musicians who led me to become who I am as a singer-songwriter. She has been the object of my envy as an artist,” she said. The singer-songwriter is reco...

FNC will also hold a series of in-person auditions in the US, starting next month. The upcoming audition, titled “2022 FNC Pick Up Stage: USA Tour,” will take place in six cities sixteen times. It will begin in Seattle on April 18-19 and continue traveling to San Francisco on April 20-21, Los Angeles on April 22-24, and New Jersey and New York on April 28-May 1. Anyone born between 2003 and 2010...

The Korean Symphony Orchestra on Friday is officially adding “national” into its name following the culture minister’s approval earlier this month. The name change for the orchestra, which is under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has been pushed for several years, but faced opposition from the KBS Symphony Orchestra, which was once the National Symphony Orchestra. Despite being an ...

The annual overseas K-pop concert series organized by entertainment giant CJ ENM will resume in-person this year after a two-year hiatus. This year’s KCON will be the first on-site festival since the coronavirus crisis began three years ago. CJ ENM held the festival as online events in 2020 and last year. The upcoming K-pop concert series will hit five cities around the world this year, includi...