Rising above obstacles, Tongyeong International Musical Festival marks 20 years

Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province -- Twenty years after a music festival kicked off in a remote port city in southern South Korea with little music infrastructure, Tongyeong International Music Festival, armed with composer Chin Un-suk as its artistic director, began the 2022 edition Friday. The obstacles that TIMF has faced vary, according to Lee Yong-min, CEO of Tongyeong International Music Foundation, ranging from the physical distance to an audience unfamiliar with contemporary

March 25, 2022

[From the Scene] ‘2022 Special Concert for World Peace’ presents hopes for world peace, harmony

Ranging from classical, jazz and pop to traditional Korean sounds, music filled the Seoul Arts Center’s concert hall Wednesday night in a concert held to wish for peace amid the war in Ukraine. The “2022 Special Concert for World Peace,” co-hosted by The Korea Herald and the Seoul Arts Center, delivered a message of peace and harmony led by the Seoul Pops Orchestra’s director and conductor Ha Sung-ho. “I am touched and amazed by how many people in Korea are sendin

March 23, 2022

Cellist Mischa Maisky and daughter to perform in Korea

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 will travel to Gwangju for the last recital here at Gwangju Culture & Art Center on May 3. Bo

March 23, 2022

[Herald Interview] Seoul Pops Orchestra violinists Sergiy Salo and Olga Knyazeva seek to deliver message of world peace, harmony

Not having performed in a concert since December, two violinists of Seoul Pops Orchestra revealed their mixed emotions for the 2022 Special Concert for World Peace, which is to be held Wednesday at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall. “Due to the COVID-19 situation and the fast-spreading omicron variant, we did not have a concert for almost three months. I was happy to see my colleagues to prepare for tomorrow’s concert. I am excited, but nervous at the same time,” violinist S

March 22, 2022

Three leading string quartets come together for spring concert

South Korea’s three leading chamber ensembles are set to join forces for a concert in April, according to classical music management company MOC Production. Titled “Quartet Plus,” the concert on Aprill 20 will feature performances by three award-winning quartets -- Novus Quartet, Abel Quartet and Arete Quartet. Abel Quartet will open the concert with Haydn’s Hob III:70 - String Quartet Op. 71, No. 2 in D major. The youngest ensemble, Arete Quartet, will perform Shum

March 22, 2022

’Can’t Stop This Party’ a new challenge for singer-songwriter Seori

Singer-songwriter Seori returned to the stage with her fifth digital single “Can’t Stop This Party” Tuesday, after a seven-month hiatus. “The newly launched single was a new experience and a challenge,” the artist said at a press showcase event held in western Seoul ahead of the single’s release at 1 p.m. online. “Can’t Stop This Party” is an all-English language single and a follow-up to “Dive with You,” which was released la

March 22, 2022

Hybe, FNC to kick off series of US auditions in April

Hybe, the agency behind BTS, and FNC Entertainment, the company behind SF9, Monday announced plans to hold a series of auditions in the US aimed at finding new talents. Hybe’s seven subsidiaries -- Big Hit Music, Belift Lab, Source Music, Pledis Entertainment, Koz Entertainment, Hybe Labels Japan and Hybe America -- are set to hold their first joint auditions in Las Vegas next month. “Hybe Multi-label Audition” will take place four times on April 8-9 and April 15-16 there. An

March 21, 2022

The Korean Symphony Orchestra officially adds ‘national’ lable to its name

  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 organization supported by a national budget, the orchestra has been long

March 18, 2022

Global K-pop festival KCON to return to live concerts in May

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, including Seoul, Chiba, Chicago, Tokyo and Los Angeles. The lineups for the concerts have yet to be

March 17, 2022

Pianist Kim Sun-wook to return in May

Concert pianist Kim Sun-wook is poised to hold three recitals in May, Vincero, a classical concert production company, said on Wednesday. At his first recital in Korea this year, Kim will showcase three different colors of three great composers with a program of Schubert’s Four Impromptus D. 899, Albeniz’s ‘Iberia’: Book II and Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor S. 178. The first concert will take place at 5:00 p.m. on May 15 at Seoul Arts Center. General ticketing

March 16, 2022

Cellist Kim Hyo-jeong to offer familar tunes at upcoming recital

Cellist Kim Hyo-jeong is set to play familiar favorites when she takes the stage on Sunday for her solo recital. At Sunday’s recital at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei in Seoul, Kim, 26, will perform Mendelssohn’s “Lied Onhne Worte,” Op. 109, Faure’s “Sicilienne,” Op. 78, Chopin’s Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65, and Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata in D minor, Op. 49. “I chose familiar melodies by Mendelssohn and Faure to comfort people who are b

March 16, 2022

[Exclusive] Mastermind behind Twice’s global success to helm JYP USA

K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment’s newly established US arm will be led by the person largely responsible for the global success of the label’s girl group Twice. “Shin Hyun-kuk has been tapped to helm US operations. He is a chief director of one of the four artist management and marketing teams and JYP Three Sixty’s chief executive officer,” a JYP Entertainment official told The Korea Herald Tuesday evening. The official said JYP USA is currently “setting

March 16, 2022

After multiple cancellations, SPO’s artist-in-focus to perform for the first time since 2019

Augustin Hadelich, an Italian-German-American violinist and Seoul Philharmonic’s Artist-In-Focus, will take the stage later this month for the first time without any cancellations as a visiting artist since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Five concerts featuring the 37-year-old violinist will take place as planned starting from March 31, an official at SPO confirmed on Monday. During his visit to Korea as SPO’s Artist-In-Focus, he will play a wide-ranging repertoire, includi

March 16, 2022

Pianist Lim Dong-hyek marks 20th anniversary with new album, recital series

Korean classical pianist Lim Dong-hyek on Tuesday said that he is still hoping to improve as he marks the 20th anniversary of his debut. “When I was a teenager and also in my 20s, I focused more on achievements, mainly winning piano competitions. Now there are new tasks in front of me. It might sound a little abstract but I aim to be a better musician,” he said during a press conference at Cosmos Art Hall in southern Seoul for his upcoming solo recital tour. “I’m not

March 15, 2022

Balming Tiger to hold exclusive showcase at 2022 SXSW

Alternative K-pop group Balming Tiger is set to hold an exclusive showcase at the 2022 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in the United States this month, according to the artist Tuesday. The showcase, titled “Balming Tiger: Joyful Delivery,” will take place at Reina bar in Austin, Texas on March 19 (local time), making the group the first Korean act to perform on an exclusive stage at SXSW. The upcoming performance will also mark its first offline performance in more than two ye

March 8, 2022

Ailee to drop new English-language album ‘I’m Lovin’ Amy’

Singer Ailee will release an all-English language album Monday, the artist’s management agency The L1ve said. The album, titled “I’m Lovin’ Amy” will hit online music streaming sites at 6 p.m., wrapping up her previous releases “I’m,” “Lovin” and “Amy.” It is the singer’s second English album work after single “Sweater” released in December 2019. Leading the 12-track album is “Murder On The Danc

March 7, 2022

[Newsmaker] Leaving their instruments behind, Ukrainian musicians return home to take up arms

Seoul Pops Orchestra director and conductor Ha Sung-ho said that SPO will be performing a fundraising concert this month for Ukraine and the Ukrainian artists of the orchestra, who have left South Korea to join the fight against Russian troops. Seoul Pops Orchestra has four Ukrainian members, three of whom -- contrabassist Ziuzkin Dmytro, 47, violist Lev Keler, 51, and trumpet player Matviyenko Konstyantyn, 52 -- have left South Korea to fight for their country. Explaining that the orchestra&r

March 3, 2022

Boston Symphony Orchestra to perform US premiere of Chin Un-suk’s new violin concerto

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is set to perform the much anticipated US premiere of award-winning composer Chin Un-suk’s Violin Concerto No. 2 “Shards of Silence” at Boston’s Symphony Hall on Thursday. Led by its music director and conductor Andris Nelsons, the BSO will perform “Shards of Silence” with violin soloist Leonidas Kavakos. Thursday’s program also includes US composer Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question” and French compos

March 2, 2022

Aespa clinches three prizes at 19th Korean Music Awards

K-pop girl group aespa swept up three prizes at the 19th Korean Music Awards, achieving a milestone as the rookie group with the most number of prizes at the awards. At the annual music awards ceremony held at Nodeul Live House on Nodeul Island, central Seoul, Tuesday, the quartet took home the song of the year award for its megahit “Next Level,” which dropped May last year. “Next Level” also won the newly created best K-pop song category and the group took home rooki

March 2, 2022

Cho Seong-jin steps in for pro-Putin Russian pianist at Carnegie Hall

South Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin stepped in to replace Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, whose performances Friday at Carnegie Hall in New York were canceled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Carnegie Hall announced Friday that Cho would join the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Canadian conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin for that evening’s program, performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Both Carnegie Hall and Vienna Philharmonic expressed their deep gr

Feb. 28, 2022