Kim quick to lead charity concerts

Rocker Kim Chang-wan of the Kim Chang-wan Band is holding a charity concert Friday at V-hall in Seogyo-dong, central Seoul, with fellow rock bands to help Japan’s quake victims. Titled “WHY ON EARTH,” the concert will feature 17 bands including Kim Chang-wan Band, Jang Ki-ha and Faces, Crying Nut, Seoul Electric Band, Yellow Monster, Diablo, Park Gi-young, and nyfish. The bands lined up soon after

March 17, 2011

Cleveland Museum introduces Korean, Japanese poetry paintings

Korean poetry paintings will be displayed in a major U.S. art museum for the first time next week. The exhibition “The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art,” which kicks off March 27 at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, will offer a rare and in-depth comparison of poetry paintings by Korean and Japanese artists from the 14th to the 21st centuries. Browsing through the 80 poetry paint

March 17, 2011

Hilary Hahn, ECO to perform in Seoul

Grammy-winning American violinist Hilary Hahn and U.K.’s English Chamber Orchestra will meet their Korean fans on April 12 at the Seoul Arts Concert Hall. Hahn last visited Seoul three years ago.Hahn, 31, is one of the most sought after violinists in the world, along with Korean-American violinist Sarah Chang, 30. Hahn and Chang have been often compared with each other due to their different perfo

March 17, 2011

Aram Nuri kicks off 7-year symphonic series

Program encompasses wide repertoire from Haydn to ShostakovichWhen it comes to symphonies, the most frequently performed composers in Korea are those composed by Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Beethoven.To encourage classical music lovers to enjoy a broad range of music and to allow extensive study of each composer’s symphonies in chronological order, the Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Center said it will kick of

March 16, 2011

Korean shows suffer as Japanese visitors cancel

Chongdong Theater’s Korean traditional musical performance “Miso” ― whose audience is 30 to 40 percent Japanese ― is in a fix. Japanese tourists have been canceling their tickets since the horrendous earthquake and tsunami that hit their country. “Most Japanese groups that were supposed to come on the day the earthquake struck canceled. About 13 groups have canceled so far. Some who are already ca

March 16, 2011

Guitar on a smoking hot roll

LOS ANGELES ― The pages of newspapers, or history books for that matter, don’t runneth over with stories of happy accidents involving chainsaws.But that’s just what put Philadelphia musicians Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing, who tour as Hymn for Her, in possession of a musical instrument that changed the direction of their career.The incident also brought them into a surprising community that’s sprung

March 16, 2011

140,000 Korean cultural artifacts scattered overseas

More than 140,000 Korean cultural artifacts are currently in overseas countries, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced on Tuesday.Last January the research institution drew up a list of Korea’s missing cultural assets that have been located in foreign countries. At the time, the list had concluded that there are a total of 116,896 Korean items located overseas. The newly r

March 15, 2011

Opera ‘Faust’ to put love, faith to the test

French composer Charles Goudnod’s opera “Faust,” which premiered in the mid-19th century in Paris, is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. The Metropolitan Opera in New York City alone has staged it more than 750 times since 1883.The Korea National Opera is to stage “Faust” from March 16-20 at the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater. It is the second of the opera company’s four-

March 15, 2011

Korea’s dramatic history in artists’ eyes

Leeum presents 80 artworks looking back on Korea’s history from 1876 to presentKorea’s restless modern history will unfold at Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, in the form of paintings, photographs, installations and media works. The exhibition “Korean Rhapsody: A Montage of History and Memory,” which opens on Thursday, displays 80 historical documents and artworks that r

March 15, 2011

Dr. John inducted into Rock Hall of Fame

NEW YORK (AP) ― New Orleans piano maestro Dr. John wore a bright purple suit for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, leading a class with Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper and Tom Waits.Fellow pianist Leon Russell and “Wall of Sound” singer Darlene Love also were to be inducted at a black-tie dinner at The Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan. A tape of the ceremony is to air March

March 15, 2011

Icon of Korean theater celebrates 20th anniversary

Commemorative performance ‘Hakchon Repertoire’ turns fans nostalgicVeteran actor Kim Yun-seok, who mesmerized cinephiles with his impressive role as a fraudulent gambler in the movie “Tazza,” was at the entrance of Hakchon Blue Theater in Daehangno, central Seoul, on Friday evening, checking names and handing out tickets. A PR official standing next to him handed a ticket and wanted to confirm if

March 14, 2011

‘Legally Blonde’ scoops 3 Laurence Olivier Awards

LONDON (AP) ― Frothy, film-inspired funfest “Legally Blonde: The Musical” won three big prizes at London’s Laurence Olivier theater awards, while Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Love Never Dies’’ went home empty-handed despite seven nominations.“Legally Blonde” was named best new musical at Britain’s equivalent of Broadway’s Tonys on Sunday. Star Sheridan Smith was crowned best actress in a musical, and Ji

March 14, 2011

Artworks for the ‘in between’

Mexican artist melds media, time, fantasy and reality at solo show in SeoulThe ancient Egyptians were not the only ones who liked to put animal heads on human bodies. Mexican artist Carlos Amorales also enjoys creating “manimals,” his own term for the half-human, half-animal creatures, through different media such as photograms. Photograms are photographic images made without using a camera. When

March 13, 2011

Celebrating genius of an undiscovered photographer

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) ― Fractions of seconds, captured by Vivian Maier a half-century ago or more ― fleeting moments of life on the streets at a time when men wore fedoras and dragged on Lucky Strike cigarettes, when women favored babushkas, when families piled in Studebakers and Packards for Sunday drives.She and her photos seemed destined for obscurity until a young man with an eye for bargains

March 13, 2011

Spanish artist looks for Korean faces

Jaume Plensa, a Spanish installation artist renowned for his witty installation works, is looking for orean faces for his work “State Tower-Gwanghwamun,”which will be built in Cheongjin-dong, central Seoul, in July next year. Plensa’s public installation works are found across the world, with some of his famous work including “As One” in Toronto International Airport and “Breathing” on the BBC bui

March 13, 2011

Event calendar

Exhibitions“WA: The Spirit of Harmony and Japanese Design Today”: This show explains why adjectives such as “minimal,” “delicate” and, surprisingly, “thoughtful,” cannot help but be used to describe products made in Japan. It does more than introducing the latest cutting-edge designs: it offers an overall view of historically important designs by the Japanese that were created over 50 years ago an

March 11, 2011