Culture /

Music

Related Topics:
Music
K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop
Hong Kong gigs
album reviews
A hidden handwritten message in the Silesian dialect - a mix of Polish and German - is seen inside an instrument dubbed the ‘’violin of hope’’ made by Franciszek “Franz” Kempa at the Dachau concentration camp near Munich, Germany, in 1941. Photo: AP
Music

Secret message discovered in violin reveals its Nazi camp origins

Art dealers found that a skilfully crafted violin they had long owned was made by a Jewish prisoner at the Dachau Nazi concentration camp.

K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

Is IU dropping new music? New photo teases possible comeback

K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

Mainland China to host first K-pop concert since ‘K-wave ban’ began in 2016

Music

Jensen McRae’s journey from Phoebe Bridgers parody to full-fledged singer

In 2021, a viral ‘cover’ song parodying Phoebe Bridgers led to McRae’s debut album and tour. Today, people love her deeply personal songs.

videocam
Jensen McRae released her debut EP in 2021. Photo: AP
Jensen McRae released her debut EP in 2021. Photo: AP
K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

What Just B’s Bain coming out as gay shows about Korea’s progress on LGBTQ

With Bain the first active member of a K-pop boy group to publicly come out as gay, is Korean society beginning to shift towards acceptance?

Parenting: newborns to toddlers

A parent’s guide to Disney stage musicals, how best to prepare their child

Planning a trip with your child to see Frozen or The Lion King on stage? Experts on if live-action musicals are suitable for young children.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Music

Pianist undertakes 16-hour-plus concert of same music played 840 times

19th century composer Erik Satie called Vexations ‘simple, yet arduous’. Igor Levit is among the first pianists to perform it solo in public.

Pianist Igor Levit. Photo: Felix Broede for Sony Classical
Pianist Igor Levit. Photo: Felix Broede for Sony Classical
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hedwig and the Angry Inch rock musical coming to Hong Kong in Cantonese

The musical, which follows scarred genderqueer singer Hedwig on tour, has dropped the original glam rock and will be in Cantonese.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

How Hong Kong debut of Aaron Zigman’s Émigré completes an emotional journey

This version of the musical, a love story between a Jewish refugee and a Chinese woman in Shanghai, has a different ending, composer says.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Why are classical music stars skipping Hong Kong for other Chinese cities?

From Andrea Bocelli and Placido Domingo to Lang Lang, classical music stars have been eschewing Hong Kong in favour of nearby cities.

Plácido Domingo performs at the Galaxy Macau with Beatrice Venezi conducting the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra on October 20, 2024. Photo: Galaxy Macau
American cinema

Sinners director Ryan Coogler on how Metallica inspired new horror film

The Black Panther director talks about how Metallica’s song One inspired the structure of his new vampire movie starring Michael B. Jordan.

Michael B. Jordan, center, stars in “Sinners,” a new historical blockbuster from writer/director Ryan Coogler. (Warner Bros. Pictures/TNS)
Michael B. Jordan, center, stars in “Sinners,” a new historical blockbuster from writer/director Ryan Coogler. (Warner Bros. Pictures/TNS)
Music

Senegalese ‘Seven Seconds’ star back on the road at 65 with new album

Youssou N’Dour talks about his new album Eclairer Le Monde – Light The World, using African instruments, and his 45 years as a singer.

videocam
K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

K-pop songs with a ‘French touch’? Korean precision meets French flair

Korean and French music professionals collaborated in Seoul’s first Atelier K-pop songwriting camp, creating K-pop tracks with a French vibe.

Music

Review | HK Phil and violinist Bomsori Kim’s Prokofiev has audience agog

Beijing venue’s acoustics bring out Hong Kong Philharmonic’s balance and clarity in works by Pärt and Prokofiev with Korean violin virtuoso.

Violinist Bomsori Kim performs Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No 2 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing. Photo: Desmond Chan/HK Phil
Music

Unreleased Teresa Teng song found in Japan to appear on album

Light pop song the late Taiwanese singer probably recorded in the mid-1980s will feature on album of composer Takashi Miki’s work.

Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng speaks following her arrival at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport in October 1980. An unreleased song of hers, found on tape in a Japanese warehouse some years ago, will appear on an album being released this year. Photo: SCMP
Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng speaks following her arrival at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport in October 1980. An unreleased song of hers, found on tape in a Japanese warehouse some years ago, will appear on an album being released this year. Photo: SCMP
Books and literature

Review | Beatles book takes deep dive into the Lennon-McCartney relationship

Ian Leslie relies on other Beatles books, gossip and interpreting lyrics to try to define the relationship between band’s writing partners.

Music

Ukrainian punk-rock band provide escape from ‘madness’ of war

In Ukraine, loud music and flying underwear are all part of punk duo Susidy Sterpliat’s concerts that show the power of cultural resistance.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Music

How ‘cheap trick’ helps monkeys yodel better than humans

Human yodellers can switch up and down an octave, but monkeys have a 3½-octave range. Researchers have just discovered why that is.

videocam
Monkeys are far better yodellers than humans. Photo: Shutterstock
Monkeys are far better yodellers than humans. Photo: Shutterstock
Music

Bruce Springsteen to drop 83 unreleased songs in 7-album collection

Tracks ll: The Lost Albums will contain songs The Boss wrote and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018 – 74 of them never heard before.

videocam
Hong Kong society

On This Day | Pop star Leslie Cheung dies in fall from Hong Kong hotel in 2003 – SCMP archive

The 46-year-old fell from the 24th floor window of the Mandarin Oriental hotel and was found lying in Connaught Road.

K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

How J-pop acts are seeking new fans in South Korea and beyond

Japanese superstar Kenshi Yonezu’s sold-out event in Incheon is a prime example of J-pop’s rising popularity in South Korea.

Japanese singer-songwriter Aimyon. Photo: courtesy of MPMG Music
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Visually stunning Bizet’s Carmen in Hong Kong recreates original staging

The Hong Kong Arts Festival’s presentation of the famous opera gives a fascinating sense of what audiences experienced 150 years ago.

Deepa Johnny (left) as Carmen and Kevin Amiel as Don José in the Hong Kong Art Festival’s presentation of Bizet’s Carmen at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in March 2025. Photo: Marion Herno
Deepa Johnny (left) as Carmen and Kevin Amiel as Don José in the Hong Kong Art Festival’s presentation of Bizet’s Carmen at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in March 2025. Photo: Marion Herno
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Armless musician Felix Klieser on overcoming the ‘impossible’

German born without arms, who plays the French horn with his left foot, talks about being resilient ahead of his latest concert in Hong Kong.

Music

Meet Marcin, the guitar genius so good people think he’s faking it

Marcin Patrzalek, 24, plays percussion, melody and rhythm at the same time on his acoustic guitar, and is an Instagram sensation.

videocam
Hong Kong celebrities and icons

Profile | The life and legacy of Roman Tam, Hong Kong’s ‘godfather of Cantopop’

Roman Tam was a prolific recording and performing artist whose songs and extravagant stage shows made him a Hong Kong hero and LGBTQ icon.

videocam
Roman Tam was a prolific Cantopop star with a wide range. His song “Below the Lion Rock”, which encapsulates the can-do spirit of Hong Kong people, became an unofficial anthem of the city. Photo: SCMP
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW