Jazz fests to add autumn ambience with in-person concerts

Two jazz festivals, held as either online or hybrid events last year, are scheduled to return with in-person performances. After adjusting the schedules to comply with the extended social distancing guidelines, the final lineup and dates for the annual music festival at Seoul Forest were announced in early October. The 5th Seoul Forest Jazz Festival, originally planned for Oct. 15-16, will now take place Oct. 30-31 featuring leading musicians, including violinist Danny Koo, trumpet player Damo

Oct. 13, 2021

Epik High to return with a new single ‘Face ID’

Hip-hop trio Epik High is set to drop its new single “Face ID” on Oct. 25, ahead of the release of its 10th full-length album in 2022, according to the group’s agency Hours Entertainment. “Face ID” is the group’s first new song in four months after “Rain Song,” in June. The track will be a pre-release single from the upcoming album “Epik High Is Here Part 2.” The other tracks are scheduled to be released next year. Epik High’s

Oct. 13, 2021

Concert to present climate change-affected 'Four Seasons'

A beloved Antonio Vivaldi piece has been reinterpreted with an AI-twist, imagining and rearranging “The Four Seasons” of the year 2050. “The (uncertain) Four Seasons,” a global music project calling attention to climate change and the loss biodiversity, will go onstage Oct. 20 at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. Developed by composers, musicians, climate and computer scientists using geospatial climate predictions, the project is an algorithmic rearrangement of Vivaldi&rs

Oct. 13, 2021

KNB to present Van Cleef & Arpels-inspired ballet

The Korea National Ballet is to present “Jewels,” choreographed by George Balanchine. The state ballet company will take to the stage with the 1967 ballet for the first time at the Seoul Arts Center from Oct. 20-24. Ballet legend Balanchine, recognized for his neoclassical style, created the work for the New York City Ballet of which he was the artistic director, inspired by the artistry of luxury jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels. The three acts of the plotless ballet depict

Oct. 8, 2021

[Herald Interview] Conductor ready for new chapter on podium

Conductor Sung Shi-yeon is looking forward to exciting debuts in the European classical music scene during the 2021-22 season. On Nov. 5, Sung is to make her debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra based in Amsterdam with a world premiere by Tan Dun and works by Bartok, Verbey and Yun I-sang. Initially, Oscar- and Grammy-winning Chinese composer Tan Dun was to hoist the baton for the premiere of his new work with the RCO. However, the orchestra has replaced him with Sung as Tan Dun is

Oct. 8, 2021

[Herald Interview] Taking clarinet center stage

Though clarinet is often placed toward the back of the stage during orchestral performances, clarinetist Kim Han, 25, has been bringing the wind instrument into the spotlight. Over the past few weeks, Kim has been performing in Korea, going onstage for an orchestral performance and solo recitals here. “After I won the second prize at the ARD International Music Competition 2019, there were some performances scheduled in Korea last year. But nearly all of them were postponed to this yea

Oct. 7, 2021

[Video] Meet the three brothers shaking up the K-pop industry

A visit to Korea to see his brother, K-pop sensation Eric Nam, changed Brian Nam’s life. After a podcast experiment that started in Eric’s kitchen reached number one in 29 countries, Brian quit school and followed his passion for connecting people through podcast content. Along with their other brother Eddie, who works in artist management, the three launched Dive Studios in 2019. In our conversation with Brian, we learn about what it’s like to start a company with family an

Oct. 7, 2021

Korean-American violinist named concertmaster at Hamburg Philharmonic

Daniel Cho, a 27-year-old Korean American violinist, has been appointed as concertmaster at the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra. String ensemble Sejong Soloists announced Wednesday that Cho had been selected as the concertmaster of the orchestra through an audition attended by the orchestra members and conductor Kent Nagano. The orchestra based in Hamburg, Germany was founded in 1828. Nagano has been leading the orchestra as its chief conductor since September 2015. The American conduct

Oct. 6, 2021

Vienna Philharmonic, Riccardo Muti to go onstage in Korea

The Vienna Philharmonic and maestro Riccardo Muti are to take the stage in Korea as part of the orchestra’s Asian tour, which includes Japan and China. The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts announced Tuesday the orchestra is to go onstage at the theater on Nov. 14, led by the Italian maestro Muti. Prior to the concerts in Korea, the orchestra will tour across Japan from Nov. 3 to 12. After the engagements here, the orchestra continues on in China with concerts scheduled from Nov. 1

Oct. 5, 2021

Taking ‘Samson and Delilah’ to 1938 Nazi Germany

The biblical story of Samson and Delilah will get a major reinterpretation at the upcoming performance presented by the Korea National Opera in October, as the set moves from Biblical Gaza to 1938 Nazi Germany. The KNO is to stage opera “Samson and Delilah,” Oct. 7-10, at the Seoul Arts Center, commemorating the 100th anniversary since the death of Saint-Saens. It will be the first time in 40 years that the state opera company has gone onstage with the opera work. This time, the

Oct. 5, 2021

Fusion tunes light up London for K-Music Fest

London’s Festival of Korean Music, known as the K-Music Festival, which serves as a bridge for exchange and the promotion of traditional Korean music, is returning with live performances this fall. This year marks the eighth anniversary of the festival, organized by the Korean Cultural Center UK, along with Serious, which also serves as the main organizer for the EFG London Jazz Festival. A total of eight performances will be held across five different stages from Oct. 6 to Nov. 17, thr

Oct. 1, 2021

Universal Ballet to go onstage with ‘Giselle’

The Universal Ballet Company is to stage “Giselle” at the Seoul Arts Center from Oct. 29-31. The classic ballet is one of the most well-known and widely performed works of the Romantic era. Adolphe Adam wrote the music. Most performances of “Giselle” use the choreography staged by ballet legend Marius Petipa. It tells the story of a young peasant girl named Giselle. She falls in love with Albrecht, a nobleman in disguise. After learning that Albrecht has betrayed he

Oct. 1, 2021

Schiff to hold solo, four hands piano recitals in Korea

With the local performing art scene preparing for the new normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic, pianist Andras Schiff is to go onstage in Korea with a series of performances, from solo concerts to a four hands piano recital. Classical pianist Schiff who has received numerous awards, including Grammy and Grammophon awards, the Bartok Prize and the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize, is to hold multiple performances in Korea in October.　 Schiff will hold a solo recital at the Seoul Arts Center in s

Sept. 27, 2021

KSO International Conducting Competition to take place in November

The final rounds of the first KSO International Conducting Competition will take place in November with the 12 finalists confirmed on Monday. The competition, launched this year by the Korean Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Arts Center, to find and support young conductors across the world, has rounded up the 12 finalists. The final rounds are slated to be held from Nov. 10 to 14 at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. Some 166 contenders from 42 countries applied for the competition, a

Sept. 27, 2021

Seoul International Music Fair seeks to pave way for future of K-pop

The 2021 Seoul International Music Fair (MU:CON), known as Asia’s largest music market fair, will be held online from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Marking its 10th anniversary this year, MU:CON has consistently kept up with its aim to promote “K-pop Hallyu,” by establishing a network of domestic and foreign music industry stakeholders and promoting exchanges among them. Under the theme “A Decade of K-pop and the Future ahead,” MU:CON is set to broaden the scope and vision

Sept. 25, 2021

K-pop band NCT 127 debuts on British Official Albums Chart

South Korean boy band NCT 127 has made it onto Britain's Official Charts with its latest album "Sticker." Its third studio album debuted at No. 40 on the Official Albums Chart Top 10 on Friday (local time), just one week after its release on Sept. 17. The nine-piece K-pop act has been listed on the Billboard charts of the United States several times. But this is the first time for the band to enter the top British albums chart, which is compiled by the Official Charts Company based o

Sept. 25, 2021

SPO to take stage with Erina Yashima, Kim Han

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will kick off its third and final season of 2021 with Japanese-German conductor Erina Yashima and clarinetist Kim Han. The SPO will hold concerts on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the Lotte Concert Hall in eastern Seoul under the baton of Yashima. It is the first time for Yashima, assistant conductor at the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2019, to lead the Seoul-based orchestra. Under her lead, the orchestra will present Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,&rdqu

Sept. 24, 2021

[Eye interview] Artist open to different genres, novel attempts

A colorful postcard bought in Amsterdam “just because it was so pretty,” notes and letters from friends and a large card with black-and-white graphics -- a ticket to a show by a Korean electronic music group from two years ago he kept because he was very impressed and wanted to remember it -- are lined up neatly inside violinist Yang In-mo’s violin case, affording a glimpse of his taste. “I think it is fun to decorate the interior with postcards like this,” he says

Sept. 24, 2021

Interactive play for 1-person walks to hit Seoullo 7017

The National Theater Company of Korea is to present a virtual, contactless theater performance for one-person audiences, expanding its stage to the Seoullo 7017 walkway in central Seoul. The contactless interactive theater performance “Coffee and Soporific” is to run from Sept. 24 to Oct. 3 at Seoullo 7017, an overpass-turned-sky garden at the heart of Seoul. Inspired by New York’s iconic High Line, the 1,024-meter-long park opened in 2017, complete with pedestrian paths th

Sept. 21, 2021

Lisa's 'Lalisa' tops global YouTube music chart

The debut solo release “Lalisa” from K-pop girl group Blackpink member Lisa was ranked No. 1 on global YouTube music charts in its first week, the singer‘s agency YG Entertainment said Sunday. “Lalisa” was the highest-ranked song on YouTube‘s music chart for the week starting Sept. 10 -- its release date -- with 216 million views, pushing out “Raattan Lambiyan” by Tankshik Bagchi, Jubin Nautiyal & Asees Kaur from the top spot. Its music vide

Sept. 19, 2021