Great BBC feature on Alexander Liebreich and his musical diplomacy with the Munich Chamber Orchestra in Pyongyang. http://bbc.in/100eliE. A briefer feature can be found on iPlayer here. LKL interviewed him in Tongyeong in 2012 when we visited the Tongyeong International Music Festival, of which he is artistic director. And a one-hour long documentary about his … [Read More]
Music (page 70)
Joyce Yang UK debut piano recital in Cambridge
Joyce Yang is not a name I had come across before. But she won a silver medal at the Van Cliburn competetion, and she is appearing in a series of piano recitals in Cambridge – the Cambridge International Piano Series – which includes some seriously big names: Barry Douglas, Peter Donohoe and Martin Roscoe. The … [Read More]
Event news: Sunwook Kim at the Frant Festival of Music 2013
Leeds Piano Competition Winner Sunwook Kim will be playing at the Frant Festival of Music 2013. Date: Fri 25th January 2013, 7.30 pm Venue: Frant Church: High Street Frant, Nr. Tunbridge Wells, TN3 9DX Music by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Tickets £12 from Frant Stores or tel. 01892 750665/750845 In aid of the conservation of … [Read More]
The London Korean Links Awards 2012
The seventh eclectic and highly personal commemoration of the best of the past year. Personality of the Year Runner up There were plenty of personalities in the South Korean Olympic team, particularly the pistol shooters, archers and the gymnasts. But the athlete that everyone will remember is fencer Shin A-lam, cheated out of a place … [Read More]
Seasons Greetings, and enjoy our favourite seasonal tune: “Christmas Snowing” from Yell Owe Jam
Best wishes to all LKL’s readers, contributors and supporters, and thanks for staying with us over the past twelve months. We’ll be taking a break for a couple of days. Until we return, please enjoy this lovely Chritmas song from Yell Owe Jam, with vocalist Yedda (aobve left) and saxophonist Kim Heecheol. Thanks to our … [Read More]
Tim Garland’s Korean collaboration: Sinawi and the Blues
The combination of Korean traditional instruments with modern western ones gives rise to complex performance issues. Incompatibilities of style, volume, timbre and tuning are challenges to be overcome, not always with success. With the improvisatory nature of jazz, where instruments get their chance for solos and where amplification is a customary feature of the mix, … [Read More]
BIGBANG at Wembley Arena: Fantastic, Baby
The thudding of the bass speakers was turning my inside to soup as the shrieks of the fangirls were searing laser-like into my brain. And the concert hadn’t even started yet. I had brought a stiffening drink into the arena with me, but there was no chance to down it. As soon as the band … [Read More]
Girl band is one of the DPRK’s Great Innovations of 2012
The KCNA has a press release which celebrates the many innovations in the year in which the DPRK became a great and prosperous nation. Immediately after an introductory passage praising the “ideologocial might” of the military, and before a listing of the many new factories and other technological achievements comes a brief paragraph on soft … [Read More]
Dress Classy, Dance Cheesy – the KCCUK’s seasonal K-pop party
Some early seasonal cheer at the KCCUK. Book soon. The tickets are bound to disappear fast. DRESS CLASSY DANCE CHEESY & LET’S PARTY To celebrate the graduation of the 2nd K-Pop Academy and a phenomenal year of ‘Gangnam Style’, we would like to invite you all to our ‘Merry K-Pop Night’ on Saturday, 8th December … [Read More]
Maybe one reason why Psy is the most-watched YouTube video ever
Me: So, he’s the most watched video ever! Korean friend: Yes. I click on it 50 times a day. Hmm. So is that how he did it? Well, maybe not (the video certainly deserves to beat Justin Bieber), but it’s an interesting thought. And on a related subject, the Joongang Ilbo reports on a story … [Read More]
오방색 O BANG SAEK: the 5th Korean Artists Association event at the KCC
The annual exhibition and performance by the Korean Artists Association UK at the KCC opens 28 November, lasting until 4 December. 오방색 O BANG SAEK An Exhibition & Performance by The Korean Artists Association UK Korean Cultural Centre UK 28th Nov. – 4th Dec. Opening Reception Wed. 28th Nov 2012 6.30 – 8.30 pm Performance … [Read More]
Grace Yeo performs at the Purcell Room
A recital by pianist Grace Yeo, award winner of the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, who recently had her debut at the Wigmore Hall. The recital is at the Purcell Room on Monday 3 Dec 2012 at 7:45pm. Admission is FREE but ticketed – call FREEPHONE 0800 652 6717 to reserve your free tickets. Programme: Brahms: … [Read More]
“Arirang” looks to be safeguarded at UNESCO for (South) Korea
After last year’s scare that China was laying claim to Arirang, Korea’s most famous folk-song, it looks like UNESCO will soon be listing it as part of Korea’s intangible heritage (source: Korea Times / Cultural Heritage Administration). But the song, which is loved throughout the peninsula and in Korean communities elsewhere, is to be registered … [Read More]
It’s finally happening – BIGBANG are coming to London
The CNBlue gig earlier this year was a treat, but you knew who many fans were really wanting to come. The rumours were persistent: BIGBANG would eventually visit London. It nearly happened last year but that unfortunate car incident got in the way. But now it’s happening: December 15 at Wembley Arena, according to their … [Read More]
Event news: Korea Moves – with Tim Garland @ London Jazz Festival
Last year at the KCC we had an interesting jazz / gugak fusion concert. Coming soon as part of the London Jazz Festival, a concert in which the emphasis is more likely to be on the jazz, but with participation from the Tori Ensemble‘s Heo Yoon-jeong (whom we saw at the KCC last February) and … [Read More]
Grace Yeo’s Wigmore debut
Grace Yeo has been a regular lunchtime recitalist for a number of years. So it’s nice to see her making her debut at the Wigmore Hall on 4 November. The interesting programme includes a UK premiere of two pieces by the modern Korean composer Uzong Choe. Grace Yeo, piano Kirckman Concert Society Series Date: 4 … [Read More]