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

Culture Sept. 21, 2022

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

Culture Sept. 21, 2022

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

Performance Sept. 21, 2022

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

Performance Sept. 14, 2022

 Violinist Lee Sung-ju is set to celebrate the 45th anniversary of her New York debut with an all-Mozart concert. Lee made her New York debut in 1977 at Kaufmann Concert Hall as a winner of "Young Concert Artists." She went to the US at the age of 13 to study at the Julliard School, where she studied under Ivan Galamian and Dorothy Delay. For the upcoming concert, titled “Mozart Revolution,” Lee will go on stage with violist Kim Sang-jin and Camerata Antiqua Seoul,

Latest News Sept. 14, 2022

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

Performance Aug. 31, 2022

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday said it is seeking 6.7 trillion won ($4.9 billion) for next year’s budget. 　Next year’s budget is a 9.3 percent cut from this year‘s, and stands in contrast to a 5.2 percent hike in the national budget proposed for the next year. 　An official at the ministry explained that some 450 billion won was transferred to local projects as part of the National Balanced Development Special Account for next year. Additionally, ther

Culture Aug. 30, 2022

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

Performance Aug. 29, 2022

As individuals, we often see ourselves through the lens of others, giving careful consideration to how we are viewed. However, as a country of such individuals, we may not see or refuse to acknowledge the reality of our social and cultural dynamics until someone -- likely an outsider with an insider’s view -- points it out. A recent book by Raphael Rashid, a Seoul-based freelance journalist from the UK, does just that. In his book “The Korea We Refuse to See,” written in K

Books Aug. 29, 2022

Whether chasing a lifestyle of low sleep and high output or due to the sleep deprivation synonymous with parenthood, many South Koreans are sleep-deprived. For Kim Yu-ri, a nurse in her 30s with two children, sleep has long been a luxury. Raising a 3-year-old and 1-year-old while commuting two hours daily from home in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to Jamsil in Seoul, her days are already overpacked. “I think seven hours of sleep at night is what I really need, but it never seems to be a po

Technology Aug. 27, 2022

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:

Performance Aug. 22, 2022

The National Chorus of Korea aims to reach global audiences with its first album and special concerts with US soloists. After releasing its first regular album, “Voices of Solace,” alongside high-budget music videos for the album in June, the 49-year-old national choral group is taking Korea’s old and new melodies to the stage with the 24-member American Soloists Ensemble this month. “I had a chance to conduct an all-Korean music concert in the US in 2019 and realized

Performance Aug. 16, 2022

Compared to Broadway and the West End, which have become synonymous with musicals, South Korea’s musical industry remains small and stagnant at about 400 billion won ($307 million) a year. However, experts here said that Asia’s fourth-largest economy has developed musicals with its own distinct characters and hosts a unique audience and holds great potential, but only if it overcomes a myriad of challenges. “The popularity other K-cultural products enjoy and the potential of

Culture Aug. 13, 2022

In August 2002, the online portal site Daum created a category called “Webtoon” on its platform. Following Daum, South Korea’s largest online portal and search engine Naver launched a similar platform in 2005. Twenty years after their conception, webtoons have become a veritable industry of their own. South Korean webtoons have emerged as a strong multiuse source that create enormous economic value not only in Korea, but also globally. Domestically, it raked in 1.053 trillion

Cartoon Aug. 13, 2022

Korean American writer Min-jin Lee, 53, spent some 30-odd years writing her second novel “Pachinko.” She interviewed numerous people in Korea, Japan and other places around the world for this book. Her quest for accuracy and authenticity even led her to abandon a previous draft in 2007 called “Motherland” which was nearly a full-length book. “It was a terrible book … it was really boring and even my husband said it was really boring. I didn’t want t

Books Aug. 8, 2022