The steps that 18-year-old pianist Lim Yun-chan are taking after his sensational win at the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in June are perhaps far from the expectations of many. Instead of releasing his own album, his first work post-competition is a collaboration with the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra. He has also refused to play what he performed at the competition during his upcoming Seoul recital on Dec. 10. During a press conference on Monday, Lim shared the unique thought pr

Anyone who is familiar with Korean surnames would assume that the German pianist Christopher Park has some Korean roots. And, indeed, he has. He was born to a German mother and a Korean American father in 1987, but it wasn’t until 2009 that he was able to make his first trip to South Korea. The opportunity came through a chance encounter of Park’s elementary school teacher and Pete Song, who runs a classical music production company, Pete Music, on a train in Germany in 2008. Upon he

Days after singer and actor Lee Seung-gi became embroiled in a payment dispute with his longtime agency, Lee’s legal representative demanded Hook Entertainment disclose all payments for digital streams of his songs since his debut. According to local online media outlet Dispatch on Monday, the singer has not received a single payment for his songs’ digital streams or downloads of his songs on online music platforms. The report claimed that Lee made some 9.6 billion won ($7.27 million

Yang Bang-ean, a composer, pianist and producer born and based in Japan who holds Korean citizenship, frequently used the words “development” or “evolution” when answering reporters' questions on Monday. When he decided to rearrange “Echoes,” which he composed in the early 2000s, for his new album, it was because he “had to develop further this personally important piece.” The 62-year-old also said he wants daily evolution and to keep showin

As the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar on Sunday, South Korea united to cheer for the national team, chanting and singing songs together. Local artists release World Cup-themed songs every season to add to the festive spirit. “For Victory” and “The Shouts of Reds” are among the popular cheering songs released by veteran modern rock band TransFixion. “We went on a hiatus for about four years after releasing our debut album ‘Come Back to Me' in 2002

Eric Nam wraps up world tour in Seoul, hints at more to come next year

David Reiland, the Artistic Director of the Korean National Symphony Orchestra, stands next to Ahn Yeo-ryeong, one of the four up-and-coming conductors selected for a workshop organized by the orchestra. Ahn conducts Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 in E minor in front of Reiland and a group of audience members who keenly observed the interaction between the two conductors as well as with the orchestra. Ahn shows conspicuous movements and expressions, to which the Luxembourgian conductor who has bee

Brightman in written interview ahead of her concert in December

South Korean pianist Lee Hyuk became joint first prize winner of the 2022 Long Thibaud International Competition, along with Japanese pianist Kamei Masaya, according to its organizers Sunday. Lee is the second Korean pianist to win the prize, following Lim Dong-hyek, who won the prize in 2001. The third prize was given to American pianist Davidman Michael. The 22-year-old will receive 27,500 euros ($28,300) in prize money in addition to an opportunity to participate in about 20 concerts and mu

The music video for K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's debut song "Boombayah" has surpassed 1.5 billion views on YouTube, the group's agency said Saturday. YG Entertainment said the video passed the milestone at about 3:50 a.m. the same day, six years after the K-pop quartet launched its debut EP album, "SQUARE ONE," in August 2016. Boombayah is one of the two songs on "SQUARE ONE," along with "Whistle." As of Saturday, three BLACKPINK videos have garn

Elisso Virsaladze, an 80-year-old Russian pianist, is set to bring her favorite Mozart and Chopin pieces to Seoul later this month, according to Kumho Art Hall on Wednesday. On Nov. 24, she will perform Mozart’s Fantasia for Piano in C minor, K. 396, 9 Variations on “Lison dormait” for Piano in C Major, K. 264 and Rondo for Piano No. 3 in A minor, K.511 as well as Chopin’s Waltz for Piano in A minor, B. 150, Op.posth. After the intermission, she will return with Mozart&rs

While the sky in Korea was graced by a mesmerizing total lunar eclipse, the 12-time Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter and guitarist Jack White flooded a Seoul concert hall on Tuesday night with a light haze and shades of blue with rock ‘n’ roll energy. The concert, held at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul, was part of the American rock musician’s global "Supply Chain Issues Tour” and his first show in the country. Although the event was scheduled late on a weekd

Sohn Min-soo, a professor and pianist, will join his alma mater, the New England Conservatory, as part of its piano faculty starting in fall 2023, the Boston-based music school announced last week. That means he will leave his current post at Korea National University of Arts, known as K-Arts, where the 45-year-old has been teaching pupils since March 2015. One of his students, Lim Yun-chan, at K-Arts became the youngest winner in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition’s history i

Under the theme “Visual Music, Musical Art,” two concerts featuring an orchestra and disabled guest musicians, were held in the US last weekend. The Soliall Philharmonic Orchestra from Korea performed with eight guest musicians -- including pianist Son Eun-young, blind violinist Kim Ji-sun, blind clarinetist Lee Sang-jae and blind cellist Kim Min-joo -- first at the Davis Theater for the Performing Arts in Alabama on Saturday, and then at the Gas South Theater in Georgia on Sunday. S

Violinist Edwin E. S. Kim pays tribute to his second hometown Vienna, where the 45-year-old violinist spent almost half of his life, in his third solo album, “Mein Niener Herz.” The album, which translates to “My Vienna Heart,” includes 10 pieces by Fritz Kreisler, Ede Poldini, Franz Lehar and Franz Schubert, composers all associated with the Austrian capital. Kim arranged the track list, which starts with Kreisler’s Rondino on a theme by Beethoven and ends with Sch