New SAC president vows to focus on 'pure art' like opera and ballet

The new president of the Seoul Arts Center on Thursday unveiled plans to focus on “pure art," such as opera and ballet, as the organization seeks to return to its original goals. Chang Hyoung-joon, who was appointed in June as the 17th president of South Korea’s top art complex by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "The Opera Theater, which was built as an opera and ballet theater, will regain its original position by presenting pure art works centered on op

Sept. 29, 2022

K-Music Festival in London to offer rich Korean flavor beyond K-pop

The 9th edition of K-Music Festival, hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre UK, is set to bring an experience beyond K-pop with a lineup of artists that use traditional Korean music to find new sounds during the eight-week event. K-Music 2022 will kick off Oct. 5 with a joint concert by Dal:um and ReMidas at the Barbican Centre in London. Dal:um, a musical duo featuring gayageum player Ha Su-yean and geomungo player Hwang Hye-young, made their London debut at the Purcell Room last year. This time,

Sept. 28, 2022

National Gugak Center to unveils cantatas of 'Jongmyo Jeryeak,' 'Arirang'

The National Gugak Center, a state-supported organization that aims to foster Korean traditional music, is set to perform a set of cantatas featuring Korea’s "Jongmyo Jeryeak" and "Arirang." The concert, conducted by Lee Yong-tak, the artistic director of the Contemporary Gugak Orchestra, will present a harmonious sound created by 123 performers. The first part, which will run for 45 minutes, will premiere a new rearrangement of "Jongmyo Jeryeak" by Suwon Un

Sept. 27, 2022

[Herald Interview] Im Chang-jung on learning from "mistake of his life"

Actor Im Chang-jung's worst nightmare came true when he returned to the musical stage for the first time in 10 years: He forgot his lines. Im, who played the role of Daniel in the musical "Mrs. Doubtfire," called it the "mistake of his life" over and over again during an interview with reporters on Thursday. “I’d never made that kind of mistake in my life. Forgetting an entire line of a scene. I felt terribly sorry for the audience and still think about h

Sept. 26, 2022

Can 'Crash Landing on You' musical repeat success of original TV drama?

The musical version of "Crash Landing On You," based on the 2019 megahit TV series of the same title, was unveiled Friday. The musical features familiar names from both the TV and theater scenes in the iconic lead roles of Ri Jung-hyuk and Yoon Se-ri. Lee Jang-woo, Lee Kyu-hyung and Min Woo-hyuk take the role of Ri, the North Korean officer, while Im Hye-young, Kim Ryeo-won and Na Ha-na portray Yoon, the heiress to a South Korean conglomerate. The actors and the creative team alike s

Sept. 21, 2022

Emerging pianist, lifelong Bach specialist and more set to visit Korea this year

Evgeni Koroliov, Alim Beisembayev, Andras Schiff, Francois-Frederic Guy, Igor Levit and Eric Lu. These are pianists who are set to perform in South Korea later this year, offering a wide-ranging repertoire by Bach, Beethoven and Chopin, among others. Russian pianist Evgeni Koroliov, known as a specialist in the Bach keyboard repertoire, will take the stage with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday for an all-Bach concert. The program consists of Bach Concerto for 3 Harpsichords in D mino

Sept. 21, 2022

Seoul Metropolitan Opera to perform Gounod's ‘Romeo and Juliette’

Seoul Metropolitan Opera will stage Charles Gounod’s French opera “Romeo et Juliette” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, from Thursday to Sunday. Inspired by Hector Berlioz’s dramatic symphony of the same title, Gounod wrote the opera based on Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet." The opera premiered at Theatre Lyrique in Paris in 1867. The troupe is set to perform the tragic love story of a son and daughter from two rival fam

Sept. 21, 2022

Korean National Symphony Orchestra embarks on European tour

The Korean National Symphony Orchestra is embarking on a European tour for the first time under its new name. Known as the Korean Symphony Orchestra until March this year, it added "National" to its name to reflect that it is supported by the national budget. The tour will visit three countries in Europe, celebrating the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea-Austria relationship, the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the Korea Culture Center in Poland and newly foun

Sept. 21, 2022

Pianist Paik Kun-woo's search for musical freedom brings us 'Goyescas'

Pianist Paik Kun-woo saw Alicia de Larrocha performing Granados’ “Goyescas” when he was in New York as a student. That was likely a concert on Dec. 7, 1967, that took place at Carnegie Hall to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Granados. Even now he remembers vividly how deeply impressed he was by the performance and how the music filled the hall with warmth on a chilly night, thinking that he wanted to play it himself someday. That “someday” came half

Sept. 21, 2022

Circus Caravan invites audience to contemporary circus feast

A man throws a woman in the open air and catches her with one hand. Then she carefully balances herself upside down with one hand holding his other hand. Getting a sneak peek into the performance “Enva” by Spanish artist group Amer i Africa Circ Cia, the hand-to-hand circus is sure to provoke “oohs” and “ahhs” from the audience with their compelling acrobatics. With music adding a mischievous mood to the act, the pair perform awe-inspiring acrobatics between 2

Sept. 15, 2022

[Eye interview] Understanding Korea through its classical musicians

On May 29, violinist Yang In-mo, the first ever Korean to win the Paganini International Violin Competition in 2015, won the top prize at the jean Sibelius International Violin Competition. A few days later, cellist Choi Ha-young won the first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition held in Belgium. And two weeks after that, pianist Lim Yun-chan won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming the youngest winner at age 18. Lim quickly became a household name -- even those who have

Sept. 15, 2022

Bursting with local flavor, “Mrs. Doubtfire” hits the spot

The previews of the musical adaptation of “Mrs. Doubtfire” opened on Broadway at an unfortunate time -- on March 9, 2020 -- right as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in New York. 　Like most theaters and productions around the world, it only ran three performances before going on an uncertain hiatus. 　The previews returned in October last year, but had to close again in January. In May, the show was closed again, just one month after reopening, due to the spread of the omicron vibran

Sept. 14, 2022

[Herald Review] Songolmae reunion concert takes audience on '80s nostalgia trip

There's a saying that new things are always better than old, but the power of a classic is something to hold on to. It brings back old memories and allows us to reminisce on the good old days. To revive Korean listeners’ memories of the 1980s, renowned rock band musicians Bae Cheol-soo and Koo Chang-moo gathered for a nationwide concert tour after 38 years apart. The rock 'n' roll event was the ticket to an adventure back in time for both the artists and audience of some 9,5

Sept. 13, 2022

[Herald Interview] Blending old and new: SMMT on what makes timeless music

Comfortable in a pair of sneakers and a T-shirt, SMMT has been soaking up the spotlight as a globe-trotting DJ. Not much is known about him, but concertgoers will see him mixing live sessions for local rappers pH-1 and Sik-K and taking over the deck at parties. He’s also a member of Yelows Mob, a music crew helmed by Sik-K. Born Jung Sung-min, SMMT is one of the faces under H1ghr Music with a unique background. He kicked into gear as a DJ at 20. In 2020, he earned his first credit as a p

Sept. 5, 2022

Dutch conductor named Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra music director

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has appointed Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden as its new music director. The orchestra announced Sunday that the Dutch conductor, 61, will begin his five-year tenure in January 2024. The search for the new music director began earlier this year as the current music director Osmo Vanska decided not to renew his contract, which ends at the end of the year. Vanska was appointed in January 2020. Guest conductors will be sought for the orchestra's 2023 performa

Sept. 4, 2022

Lang Lang reinterprets Disney music in new album

As The Walt Disney Company celebrates 100 years, pianist Lang Lang is set to release “The Disney Book,” which contains 27 songs from the entertainment giant’s iconic films. 　Speaking to Korean reporters on Tuesday in an online interview, Lang Lang said the project took him several years as he and his production team tried to make sure the new arrangement would be on par with the music of great composers like Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and so on. 　“I always w

Aug. 31, 2022

Chamber Orchestra of Europe, pianist Kim Sun-wook to take stage in November

Korean concert pianist Kim Sun-wook will join forces with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, this time led by conductor Kirill Karabits, to bring the 18th and 19th German and Austrian music to Korea in November. On Nov. 5, the London-based orchestra and Kim will perform Schubert Overture in the Italian Style, D.59, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 37, and Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, Op. 90. It is an all-Beethoven program on Nov. 8 with Coriolan Overture Op. 62,Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58

Aug. 29, 2022

Jarasum Jazz Festival returns in full swing

After two pandemic-ridden years of online and scaled-back performances, the country‘s biggest jazz festival is set to return in October. The three-day Jarasum Jazz Festival will kick off on Oct. 1 on Jara Island, Gyeonggi Province, with 19 international performers and 13 Korean acts participating in the jazz-filled program. The 19th edition of the festival will open with singer Kim Hyun-chul, four-member keyboard band Hardpiano, jazz trio Winter To Spring and newcomers jazz vocalist Cho

Aug. 23, 2022

Pianist Paik Kun-woo returns with music of Granados

Pianist Paik Kun-woo, who is known for focusing on one composer at a time, is set to bring the music of Spanish composer Enrique Granados to the stage. In an Oct. 8 recital at Seoul Arts Center, Paik will perform works by Granados, a composer who is not well-known in Korea. They include “Goyescas, Op. 11,” “Los Requiebros,” “Coloquio en la Reja,” “El Fandango de Candil,” “Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruisenor,” “El Amor y la Muerte:

Aug. 22, 2022

[Feature] Enter stage right: Musical theatre holds opportunities for K-pop idols

  Over the past few years, K-pop idols have been expanding their horizon through onstage debuts, with more singers entering the world of musical theatre, which was once considered an elitist realm only for the classically trained. The latest to make it on stage is Mamamoo‘s lead vocalist Solar, who made her debut in the titular role of “Mata Hari” in May. The cast included Chang-sub of boy band BTOB and rock band FT Island’s Lee Hong-ki, who played Armand, the mal

Aug. 22, 2022