Violinist Lee Sung-ju, professor at the Korea National University of Arts school of music, will play Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos on Nov. 13 at the Seoul Arts Center IBK Chamber Hall. Celebrating the 35th anniversary of her debut at the New York Kaufman Center on April 26, 1977, the violinist will accompany Joy of Strings, a string ensemble she founded 15 years ago, to present the complicated, grand yet solemn world of Bach. The concertos, whose original title is “Six Concerts plusieurs instrume

Psy continues to take the world by storm, beginning his European tour by arriving in Paris on a private jet and performing at a “Gangnam Style” flash mob that gathered 20,000 screaming fans on Monday. The flash mob, organized by a French Radio Music channel NJR, was held across from the Eiffel Tower. After his promotions in France, Psy will be heading off to the United Kingdom and Germany where he will give a speech at Oxford University and attend the MTV European Music Awards in Frankfurt, wher

Psy, the popular singer-rapper behind “Gangnam Style,” has been named to receive a state order of cultural merit this year, along with nine other winners, the cultural ministry said Tuesday.The 34-year-old singer whose original name is Park Jae-sang, rose to global fame after the music video of “Gangnam Style” featuring his horse-riding dance moves went viral on YouTube, attracting more than 600 million views.He topped the coveted British Official Singles Chart and ranked second on the U.S. Bill

K-pop group Big Bang attracted 24,000 fans to their two concerts in Los Angeles’ Honda Center on Nov. 2 and 3, YG Entertainment said in a press release Monday. The concerts were part of the group’s world tour, “Alive Galaxy Tour 2012.”The five-member group has so far performed in Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as part of its first world tour. All concerts have sold out and additional concerts were scheduled for Los Angeles and New Jersey, which were originally

Mu:Con speakers discuss global integration of K-pop

Pop music“Singing the Beatles”: A special two-concert event will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles. Eleven artists from the Korean indie rock scene including the Moonshiners, Jang Jae-in, the Windy City, the Mentles, Kingston Rudieska, Yozoh and many more will hit the stage with their versions of more than 30 classic Beatles hits. The performance will be held at the Mapo Art Center on Nov. 2-3 at 8 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively. Tickets range from 22,000 won to 33,000 won. For more i

Macy Gray tackles Wonder‘s ’Talking Book‘Macy Gray“Talking Book”(SLG)A mere seven months after the release of her “Covered” album, which included songs by Radiohead, My Chemical Romance and others, Macy Gray has taken on what some may consider an unthinkable task: revisiting one of Stevie Wonder’s most iconic records, 1972’s¡¡“Talking Book.” It’s a gutsy decision, and one that may raise a few eyebrows (as it should).But Gray mostly delivers the collection with a twist, making over hits such as “

Diplo to perform at dance music extravaganza in Seoul

The music video of “Gangnam Style” by South Korean rapper-singer Psy ranked second on YouTube’s all-time list of most-viewed videos, updated Thursday night (on Korean time) on the service’s Web site.The viral video beat out “On the Floor” by Jennifer Lopez, drawing 615 million hits as of 9 a.m. Friday, while Justin Bieber’s “Baby” remained at No. 1 with 794 million views.Experts expect “Gangnam Style” will top the list sooner or later as the number of views is rising quickly. Boosted by the popu

Korean-American artist seeks success in Korea

Following is part of a series on Seoul’s hottest bars and clubs. ― Ed.Not many people new to Korea are aware of the phrase “after club” used among Koreans. The term refers to after-hours nightclubs open past the designated hours to serve alcohol. Of course, places like Korea do not need after-hours clubs as there is no law restricting the hours when alcohol can be sold. So don’t get confused between the “after-hours club” in Europe and North America and “after clubs” in Korea, which are two enti

The contemporary R&B artist Brian McKnight, famed for his hit song “Back at One,” will be back in Seoul to serenade his local fans once again with his silky vocals in an acoustic performance. After holding concerts in Korea both last year and the year before, McKnight is returning for another night of music and soul at the AX-Korea Hall on Nov. 30. This multi-talented entertainer is not only a singer, songwriter and producer, but a well-rounded musician playing nine instruments: piano, guitar, b