Gracias Choir is holding a nationwide Christmas tour through Dec. 23. Under the title of “Christmas Cantata,” the choir will hold a total of 43 concerts in 19 cities, including concerts at KBS Hall in Seoul from Dec. 21-23. Leading the choir is its principal conductor Boris Abalyan, who is also a professor of Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory.  Gracias Choir performs at a concert in the US (Gracias Choir)The “Christmas Cantata” program comprises three different parts: an opera featuring the bi

There comes a point when you love someone because you just love them, without any particular reason. Violin virtuoso Hilary Hahn’s love of Bach is that kind of love.“Because it’s Bach!” Hahn said, explaining her love of the composer in an email interview with The Korea Herald ahead of her upcoming South Korea tour. Hahn will perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 on Dec. 18 in Daegu and again on Dec. 19 at the Lotte Concert Hall with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under conductor Paavo J

A tree stands against the backdrop of a large white canvas. The artist‘s intervention with the canvas creates a portrait of a tree. Standing out of nowhere, the tree in front of the white backdrop also appears as an alien installation to the landscape. The highlighting of the tree as an object changes the scene.Gallery Hyundai is holding a solo exhibition of works by phtographer Lee Myung-ho, introducing his latest series titled “Nothing But,” as well as work from his past series, “Tree” and “Mi

The “Falmouth” Stradivarius -- created in 1692 by Antonio Stradivari -- will be auctioned at Seoul Auction’s 20th anniversary event on Thursday in Seoul. The auction of the “Falmouth” Stradivarius marks the first time a Korean auction house is selling a Stradivarius here, according to Seoul Auction. The “Falmouth” Stradivarius (Seoul Auction)Internationally renowned virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos was one of the former holders of the violin known for its dark, rich quality in the lower register, as we

Pianist Cho Seong-jin will perform at the Salzburg Festival in 2020, the year marking the prestigious music festival’s centennial. Salzburg Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler made the announcement at a press conference Tuesday in Seoul to promote the festival’s lineup for 2019.  cap - Pianist Cho Seong-jin plays at the Salzburg Festival 2019 presentation held Tuesday at Oakwood Premier Coex Center in Seoul. (World Culture Networks)“It’s a great honor to join one of the world’s most prominent

If you are looking for a trendy or fashionable exhibition, Doosan Gallery Seoul’s “Cour des Miracles” is probably not the right one for you. It surely will not meet your need for escapism. Here, you will not find a soothing, relaxing or sublime experience. But the exhibition offers a different kind of sensory experience.“Cour des Miracles” is an exhibition curated by Bae Enn-a, the winner of the 2018 Curatorial Open Call, a new biennial award that the art center launched this year. Artist Park S

Music of Yun I-sang and works by Japanese contemporary classical music composer Toshio Hosokawa are among the highlights at next year’s Tongyeong International Music Festival, March 29-April 7, taking place at the southern port city of Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang Province.　The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra raises the curtain on the annual music festival on March 29 with the Asian premiere of Heinz Holliger’s “Ostinato Funebre,” as well as Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C Minor Op. 67. Pianist Behzod

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will not be reuniting with its former music director Chung Myung-whun after all as the conductor withdrew from an upcoming engagement, citing health reasons.Chung has canceled all upcoming concerts until he recovers as advised by his doctor, according to a recent announcement made by management company Askonas Holt’s Martin Campbell-White. Maestro Chung Myung-whun speaks during a press conference in August to promote the concert commemorating the 120th anniversar

The yearslong patent battle between Samsung and Apple over the slide-to-unlock feature was perhaps one of the most explicit cases of how the human body -- human gestures, in particular -- have been privatized or incorporated into capitalism and technological development. Julien Previeux’s first solo exhibition in South Korea comprises works that tackle phenomena in which the contemporary world “buys” the actions of human bodies.An installation view of Julien Previeux’s first solo exhibition, “Pi

Hakgojae, one of the leading galleries in Korea, has opened a new gallery in the posh district of Cheongdam, south of the Han River. Hakgojae started in Insa-dong in 1988, which was then the center of the country’s art scene. In 2008, the gallery moved its headquarters to a traditional Korean-style building in Samcheong-dong.The opening of Hakgojae Cheongdam coincides with the gallery’s 30th anniversary. 　Fiona Rae’s “Sleeping Beauty will hum about mine ears” (Hakgojae)“Hakgojae Cheongdam will t

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art on Friday kicked off “MMCA Residency Changdong Report 2018,” an annual exhibition that introduces works of artists currently under the nation-led museum’s residency program.Over 10 days, the artists will introduce works and performances produced during their residencies at a studio in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul.  Artist Sung Nak-hee’s 2018 work "Untitled Changdong2 (detail)" (MMCA)Seven artists from five different countries are currently under

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s “Three Stravinsky” is a set of three dances based on three compositions by Igor Stravinsky, one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.A follow-up project to last year’s “Three Bolero,” in which three choreographers reinterpreted composer Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero,” this piece also involved three choreographers: the company’s artistic director Ahn Sung-soo and colleagues Kim Jae-duk and Jung Young-doo. Each one selected a Stravinsky sc

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is taking tangible steps to return to normal after a yearslong struggle.The orchestra will embark Nov. 25 on a tour of five European cities -- Geneva, Udine, Lucerne, Grenoble and Paris -- and will perform at its final stop, Paris, Dec. 1. This is the first European tour for the orchestra in four years, which was left floundering after a bitter controversy over allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and irregularities. The Seoul-based orchestra has also started

The short-lived Korean Empire (1897-1910), also known as the Daehan Empire, an interregnum between Joseon and Japanese colonial rule, is often seen as a dark period in Korean history when the 600-year-old kingdom struggled to remain independent amid the onslaught of foreign powers, especially Japan. “Art of Korean Empire: The Emergence of Modern Art,” running through Feb. 6 at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Deoksugung branch, looks at the period through art produced during

The Mariinsky Ballet will perform “Don Quixote” at the Sejong Center in Seoul from Thursday to Sunday, with ballerino Kim Ki-min and ballerina Viktoria Tereshkina in the lead roles. The production is Alexnader Gorsky’s version of the ballet, created in the early-20th century. It is a reinvention of choreographer Marius Petipa’s work, which premiered in 1869 at the Bolshoi Theatre. The Mariinsky Ballet’s Kim Ki-min performs as the poor barber Basilio in Gorsky’s “Don Quixote” (Mariinsky Theatre)