THE HAGUE (AFP) ― The chief conductor of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons, is to step down at the end of the season after leading the world-famous ensemble for a decade, the RCO announced on Tuesday.“Today ... chief conductor Mariss Jansons informed the musicians and staff members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra that Maestro Jansons will resign his position after the 2014-2015 season,” the RCO said in a statement.Health concerns were believed to be the reason for hi

Murder, betrayal, sex and vengeance ― no story shows the savage behavior that some humans succumb to in order to fulfill their ordained prophecies or the unrelenting grasp that evil can have on one’s soul like the power-hungry tale of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”“Let not light see my black and deep desires,” Shakespeare wrote in the depiction of Macbeth’s inner turmoil as he longed to murder the king and overtake his throne. Considered one of Shakespeare’s most diabolical and compelling trag

As the death toll from the ferry accident continues to rise day by day, veteran composer Yoon Il-sang has written a requiem for the victims.“I dedicate this song to the Sewol victims who have passed away ... I pray that they will be happy in the afterlife,” Yoon Il-sang wrote on his Twitter page on Wednesday after unveiling the elegy on his SoundCloud account.“Take Care,” a calm and doleful piano composition, was written, arranged and played by the composer himself.“It was difficult to work on b

‘Sorrow Even Up in Heaven,’ directed by Kim So-young, is the most-watched black-and-white Korean film of all time

As the weather begins to brighten and the promise of greener pastures is just around the corner, a handful of popular artists have organized a series of concerts, moving away from the typical overcrowded, flashy K-pop stage settings. Shin Seung-hoon, IU, Lena Park and other stars will be performing a series of intimate concerts on small stages across the city to usher in the spring. Veteran singer Shin, oftentimes dubbed the “King of Ballads” in Korea, has announced that he will be holding a str

Actress Han Ga-in, 32, and her husband, actor Yeon Jung-hoon, 36, are expecting their first child after 9 years of marriage.“Han Ga-in is currently pregnant. Yeon is very happy, because it’s their first child after years of marriage,” Han’s agency BH Entertainment said in a statment on Monday. “However, as the nation is in grief over the ferry disaster, the couple notified only their families and relatives of the pregnancy.”According to the agency, “Han will be focusing on prenatal care for the

BROOKLINE, New Hampshire (AP) ― In the portrait, the little boy’s blue eyes twinkle as he looks straight ahead. His apple cheeks shine. There’s a gap in his teeth, and his reddish-brown hair is just slightly tousled. He’s an all-American boy. He’s Dick, of the illustrated “Dick and Jane” series that helped teach generations to read from the 1930s to the 1970s. He’s also Nancy Childress’ childhood neighbor and the model for the drawing by her father, Robert Childress, that along with Jane, Sally,

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Captain America continues to vanquish box office foes, triumphing in ticket sales for the third consecutive week and dominating over megastar Johnny Depp’s new movie.“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” added another $26 million to its coffers, according to studio estimates Sunday, while Depp’s sci-fi thriller, “Transcendence,” opened in fourth place with $11 million. Directed by longtime Christopher Nolan cinematographer Wally Pfister, the Warner Bros. film is Depp’s third c

Danish artist Jesper Just exhibits films portraying women’s psychology

From Boston underground rapper to owner of Korean label, Snacky Chan stays independent

The members of EXO-M, the Mandarin unit of popular K-pop band EXO, recently returned home to China, where they performed their newest single “Overdose” for the first time on CCTV’s “Global Chinese Music” live stage music ranking program on Sunday.EXO’s upcoming “Overdose” mini-album was originally set to be released on April 21, but has been officially postponed as the nation continues to mourn for the victims and missing passengers, mostly students, of the Sewol ferry sinking. Because of the tr

Andy, a member of K-pop band Shinhwa who has been lying low after having been caught gambling illegally late last year, will attend a fan meeting in China next month, his agency said Monday. “Yes, Andy is going to China on request from fans. But it is not a signal of his comeback to the stage or small screen here,” an official at TOP Media told The Herald Business, the sister paper of The Korea Herald.           OSENAccording to the agency, the 33-year-old singer will meet his Chinese fans in th