The 2016 PyeongChang Music Festival and School, formerly Great Mountains Music Festival and School, will present a refreshing moment to enjoy beautiful harmony in the mountains of Gangwon Province.　Cellist Chung Myung-wha and violinist Chung Kyung-wha, artistic directors of the festival, pianist Son Yeol-eum, who was recently appointed as assistant artistic director, and chairman of the Gangwon Art and Culture Foundation Kim Sung-hwan introduced the program and vision of PMFS at the press confer

A second woman has filed a complaint against actor and singer Park Yoo-chun for sexual assault, police said Thursday.　The complaint comes after the woman who previously claimed sexual assault by Park last week withdrew the charge Wednesday morning. Police, however, said the same day that they would investigate the case nonetheless. 　The second woman claimed she was assaulted by Park on June 12 in much the same manner as the first woman, inside a bathroom at a Gangnam bar in which she worked, pol

Harvard University’s oldest a cappella singing group, the Harvard Krokodiloes, made its way back to a Seoul stage Tuesday as part of its 2016 summer tour of Asia. 　The 12-member all-male Kroks performed their one-night solo show at the Mirae Asset Center’s West Tower on the KF Gallery Open Stage, coupling the nostalgic sounds of barbershop vocal harmonies with cheeky, innocent humor. 　Founded in 1946, the Krokodiloes is a group of chic tuxedo-sporting undergraduates who perform songs from the Gr

Following the sudden departure of maestro Chung Myung-whun after his 10-year tenure as Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra music director last December amid a police investigation into a defamation suit brought on by the SPO’s former CEO against Chung’s wife and allegations of embezzlement, finding Chung‘s replacement is the orchestra’s top priority, said SPO CEO Choe Heung-sik. 　Choe first took rein of the city’s controversy-riddled orchestra on July 1 last year, and after nearly a year at the beleagu

Big Bang, an award-winning K-pop boy band, hit 100 million YouTube views with “Loser,” the group’s agency YG Entertainment announced Tuesday.　By Tuesday morning, the music video recorded 100,002,839 views on YouTube. The group became the first K-pop outfit to have four music videos surpassing 100 million views on YouTube. “Fantastic Baby,” “Bang Bang Bang,” and “Good Boy” by its subgroup GD&Taeyang, are the three other music videos with over 100 million views. A still from Big Bang’s “Loser” mus

The annual Ditto Festival is returning for its 10th season backed by its founder and music director, violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill, who says this year’s festivities are all about paying homage to one of the heroes of humanity with its theme “Beethoven: Beyond the Limits.”　The Ditto Festival officially opened its curtains on Sunday with a special performance by Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer and French pianist Lucas Debargue during the duo’s Asia Tour, marking the first recital program Kremer h

Emerging K-pop artists are taking to the streets for self-promotion

NEW YORK (AFP) - What makes a great musician? Passion and practice, most would agree. Acclaimed French pianist Alexandre Tharaud would add another vital trait -- knowing when to take a break.Tharaud took a rare step for a top-level classical musician of stepping away from concerts for nearly a year as he devoted himself to Bach’s famously challenging Goldberg Variations.“It is very important to be able to say no. In this profession you can easily perform constantly. But what would be the point?”

K-pop girl group 4Minute may not stay together when the members’ contracts with agency Cube Entertainment end around mid-June, local media reported Monday, quoting industry insiders.Only Kim Hyun-a, better known by her stage name HyunA, has renewed her contract, as the other bandmates are still discussing whether to renew or leave the agency.“Each member has a different career goal in mind and it was considered difficult to remain a team,” said the industry insider.News of the group’s possible d