RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) -- World-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman said he canceled his Wednesday performance with the North Carolina Symphony after he was told he would not be able to include a personal statement opposing the state’s new law limiting antidiscrimination policies for LGBT people in the event program.　In an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday, Perlman said he will not perform in North Carolina until the law is reversed.　“If I’m invited, I will come once the law’s r

May 18, 2016

K-pop girl group EXID is making a comeback with its first full-length studio album on June 1, the group’s agency Banana Culture announced Wednesday.　“EXID has completed shooting promotional pictures and filming the music video,” local media reported Wednesday, quoting an agency insider.　The lead song of the upcoming album will present a completely different concept from the group’s past hit songs “Up & Down” and “Hot Pink,” added the source. K-pop girl group EXID (Official Facebook)　The five-mem

May 18, 2016

Park Chan-kyong thinks it’s a shame that most Koreans are forgetting crucial parts of their modern history -- the Korean War and the subsequent division -- and live as if such historical facts don’t impact their lives. 　“I went to college in 1984. It was a time when students were more often seen in democracy protests on the streets than in classrooms. Political issues made up 80-90 percent of our generation’s life. From our younger days, we had been exposed to the nationwide anticommunist propag

May 17, 2016

Korean classical music artists continue to dominate elite international music competitions, with three budding Kumho Art Hall pianists snagging the top three spots at this year’s 68th annual Prague Spring International Music Competition held in the Czech Republic capital last week. 　Local piano prodigy Park Jin-hyung, 20, took home the crown in the competition's piano category Saturday, while his fellow Kumho artists Kim Jun-ho and Han Kyu-ho won the second and third place prizes, respectively.

May 17, 2016

Tiffany of Girls’ Generation will kick off her first solo concert as the sixth singer of S.M. Entertainment’s concert series “The Agit,” the singer’s agency announced Monday. 　“The Agit” -- inviting fans to the artists’ hideout -- began last October with a solo concert by SHINee’s Jonghyun. This was followed by solo concerts from Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation and Kyuhyun and Ryeowook of Super Junior. Another Super Junior member, Yesung, is scheduled to hold concerts from June 3-5 and 17-19. Promo

May 17, 2016

Girl group AOA returned Monday with a powerful summer tune and a tearful press conference.　As the press showcase for the group’s new album “Good Luck” began at a concert hall in eastern Seoul, a teary-eyed Ji-min apologized for a recent controversy. She and Seol-hyun were heavily criticized when they were unable to identify the picture of a famous Korean historical figure on a TV show last week.　“I’m sorry that a regrettable incident happened right before our comeback. I’m very sorry,” she said.

May 16, 2016

The annual Daegu International Musical Festival, the world’s first established international musical festival, is celebrating its 10th year with more than 20 productions from Korea and abroad. 　Hosted by the city of Daegu and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the annual event was first established in 2006 to promote the city of Daegu as a musical hub in Asia. 　This year’s festivities will be held from June 24 to July 11 and will feature 22 musicals from five countries: th

May 16, 2016

K-pop production companies are notorious for the rigorous training of their entertainers who undergo years of dance and vocal training before they enter the competitive market. 　When singers started appearing on TV dramas and films, acting classes also became essential. And when the K-pop wave went global, foreign language classes were added into the already harsh training regimes.　　Now, in an age when K-pop stars’ every word and action are prone to scrutiny worldwide, agencies have started to f

May 16, 2016

Singer-songwriter Baek A-yeon is set to mark her return, a year after her last single “Shouldn’t Have,” the singer’s agency JYP Entertainment announced Monday.　Baek uploaded a teaser image accompanied with the words “2015. 05 Shouldn’t Have/ 2016. 05 So So/ BAEK A YEON” on her official Facebook page at midnight on Sunday, announcing her return in May. Teaser image of Baek A-yeon’s upcoming digital single “So So” (JYP Entertainment)　In the teaser image, Baek has her head resting on a desk in a ro

May 16, 2016

K-pop boy band JYJ’s Junsu will release the new song “..Is You” at midnight on May 19, the singer’s agency C-JeS Entertainment announced Monday. 　The new song will be included in the singer’s fourth full-length studio album “Xignature,” scheduled for release at the end of May, added the agency.　The singer also unveiled the upcoming song’s lyrics on the group’s official Facebook on the same day.   A promotional image shows the lyrics to JYJ Junsu’s “..Is You.” (C-JeS Entertainment)　The song is a

May 16, 2016

STOCKHOLM (AP)—Ukraine’s Jamala was crowned the winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest early Sunday for a melancholic tune about the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars by Soviet authorities.　Susana Jamaladinova, who uses the stage name Jamala, received the highest score of 534 points for her song “1944,” after votes from juries and TV viewers across Europe were tallied following performances Saturday night by the 26 finalists at Stockholm’s Globe Arena.　Australia’s Dami Im was second with 51

May 15, 2016

NEW YORK (AFP) -- New York’s spring art auction season saw the market slow somewhat but not collapse, held up by buying from savvier collectors.　Since the fireworks of the $2.6 billion spring 2015 season, the market has played it by ear, destabilized by China’s economic slowdown.　Total sales this season were in excess of $1 billion -- in line with expectations.　“There has been a change. There’s a smarter population of people buying,” said Christopher D’Amelio, a partner at the David Zwirner gall

May 15, 2016

A 66-year-old Korean man has been arrested for allegedly making copies of Korean art master Lee U-fan’s paintings, the Seoul Metropolitan Police said Friday. 　The man surnamed Hyun is suspected of creating fake works of Lee’s abstract paintings. The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for him on Friday, the police said. 　According to the police, Hyun was arrested in Japan on April 13. Hyun fled to Japan after the Korean police carried out an investigation into art forgery rumor

May 13, 2016

Martina McBride shines on new album, ‘Reckless’Martina McBride“Reckless” (Nash Icon/BMLG)On Martina McBride’s first album for the Nash Icon label -- created to market veteran country singers -- she hedges her bets by coproducing with longtime hit-maker Dann Huff (Keith Urban) and relative newcomer Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift).Perhaps accordingly then, the album presents something old and something new. The four-time CMA female vocalist of the year tosses out a few pop-country trifles: “We’ll Pi

May 13, 2016

In 2013, two young siblings wowed television viewers when they came on the singing audition program “K-pop Star.” The pair had been homeschooled in Mongolia while living with their missionary parents. Nothing was particularly flashy about their acoustic guitar-based tunes, but their ingenuity was refreshing to audiences. 　Since then, Akdong Musician has infused the K-pop scene with their own brand of whimsical music about ordinary things in life such as ramen noodles and people crossing their le

May 12, 2016

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I, the Chekhov International Theatre Festival unveiled in 2014 the dramatic Russian play “The War,” which pays homage to the devastation caused by combat. 　The play premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival and has since toured to countries including Russia, Poland, Romania, France and Portugal.　Now gearing up for its Asia debut, “The War” is set to open this year’s 15th annual Uijeongbu Music Theatre Festival with performances on May 12

May 12, 2016