Final competitors in Seoul International Music Competition

Competitors who passed the semifinal round of the Seoul International Music Competition are: Sohn Jeung-beum (Korea) Sara Daneshpour(USA) Charles Richard-Hamelin (Canada) Han Chi-ho (Korea) Kim Jongyun (Korea) Kim Heejae (Korea) I hope the judging has been impartial (or as much as it can be). The finals will be on this Saturday and Sunday at the … Continue reading →

First public music library opens in Korea

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 →

Contestants Announced for DCS International Piano Competition: 5 Korean pianists included

Contestants Announced for DCS International Piano Competition 2014 » DCS International Piano Competition. >>>>Pianist Lee Soeun comes in third place.    Lee’s choice of the Mendelssohn G minor Concerto posed far fewer technical challenges [compared to Lizhen Wu’s second prize performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2]. Apart from a slow movement that plodded a bit, though, she … Continue reading →

English versus Korean art centre names

The pervasiveness of English—-always American English—-in marketing and popular culture in Korea sometimes entertains me but mostly annoys me. It is almost impossible to avoid. To me, it always feels tacky, humourless, and immature. Clearly I am not in the target audience. If I were, I would associate the English usage in these marketing campaigns … Continue reading →