Some upcoming Western classical recitals & concerts outside the frenetic big cities — finding out what’s on there can be (more than) a bit tricky (: Most of the programs are quite standard and unadventurous, but to be honest that’s similar in the bigger cities too. Unfortunately, almost all the websites only have ticketing … Continue reading
Some of what’s on in the next little while: Gangwon-do New York in Chuncheon Festival – Young classical musicians active in New York from the U.S., Canada , Romania, Argentina, Korea and more have set up this lively festival in ‘the middle of nowhere’. Programs are a real mix – from Schubert to Zorn. Venues … Continue reading
The first public music library in the Republic of Korea has opened this week in Paju, a city just north of Ilsan, Gyeonggi-do. It is part of the brand new Solgaram Art Hall (솔가람아트홀) that includes a performance hall dedicated exclusively to classical music performances, especially recitals and chamber music. The Garam Music Library (가람음악도서관) is substantial, with an … Continue reading
Recitals’ pros. I think there are many. They are small and intimate like watching a play in a small theatre, sharing eye contact with an actor. They are inexpensive. In Seoul concerts can be absurdly expensive. Is this due to the travel costs of international musicians or is there a less savoury reason? Price is … Continue reading
New York City’s Bang on a Can All-Stars return to Asia for a six-concert tour & residency. The residency and two concerts will be held in Tongyeong, as part of this year’s new music festival there –March 28th to April 3rd. I’ll write more about that soon (after I get sick of watching the Olympics … Continue reading
Young composer Kim Eunsung won the Mendelssohn composers competition back in December. His winning piece is called “mobile Elemente” and is for piano trio. This hasn’t gotten (almost) any coverage in English (or Korean it seems!), so I thought I would mention it. Originally from Pohang, a city in the south-east of Korea, Kim studied … Continue reading
Cellist Angela Park (Park Jean-young, 박진영) will give a recital of Beethoven sonatas, and more., on February 28th. It is another of Park Chang-soo’s The House Concerts (하우스콘서트) that I introduced before here. The program is likeable late Classical and Romantic fare: Beethoven Cello Sonata No.1 in F Major, Op.5; Tchaikovsky Pezzo Capriccioso for Cello … Continue reading
Despite the location–uberwealthy Dogok-dong, an area of Gangnam-gu in Seoul–Park Chang-soo’s The House Concerts (하우스콘서트) are inexpensive, simple and welcoming. Almost every week for the past ten years Park, a pianist himself, has hosted chamber music concerts (house concert, get it?) covering a variety of genres—traditional Korean music (국악, etc), Jazz, classical music, experimental, and … Continue reading
Timbre.Tales 