Celebrated conductor waves baton in Europe

Conductor Myung-Whun Chung, who has collaborated with many of the world's leading orchestras during his decades-long career, prefers to focus on building long-term, deep relationships with a small selection of orchestras.

Since first collaborating with the China NCPA Orchestra in 2014, the conductor says he has developed a strong and harmonious connection with the Chinese orchestra, describing it as a "good friend who understands me".

This mutual understanding is not just reflected in technical precision but also in the emotional resonance of their combined musical expression.

The China NCPA Orchestra is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and will tour Europe with Chung.

From Wednesday to Aug 15, they will tour some of Europe's leading festivals, including the Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland, the Santander International Festival in Spain, and the International Music festival Koblenz and Elbphilharmonie Summer festival in Germany.

Under Chung's direction, the orchestra will perform a selection of classical Western music pieces, including Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major, Camille Saint-Saens' Third Symphony, and Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet suites.

Chen Qigang's Wu Xing (The Five Elements), a 10-minute work comprising five short portrayals of metal, wood, water, fire and earth will also be performed on the tour.

Pianist Bruce Liu, the first-prize winner at the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, will join the tour.

"Normally, Western orchestras come to Asia. But now, it's a worldwide sharing of music, which shows the growth and quality of the musicians (from Asia). The orchestra has made great achievements in a short time. We have completed eight rehearsals and they understand me. It's a very warm collaboration," says Chung at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on July 25.

On July 26 and 27, the conductor led the China NCPA Orchestra in two European tour preview concerts at the NCPA.

In 2023, Chung conducted the China NCPA Orchestra, featuring Liu on Chopin's Piano Concerto No 1 in E Minor, Op 11, in which Liu performed during the final round of the Chopin competition.

In June, Chung invited musicians from the China NCPA Orchestra to join the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra he founded in 1995 to perform the opening concert for the Busan Concert Hall, where he is the artistic director.

"I am glad to see that music development has come to a point where China can partner with the Western world," he adds.

"Music can bring people together; that is important. We have no language barrier, and the world can share this music as one family," the conductor notes. "Music is free, warm, and equally shared."

When asked about the music pieces chosen for the tour, he says he doesn't have a particular reason to choose the pieces because "we have such a wealth of repertoire" and "it depends on the feeling at that moment".

He chose Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet suites because he considers it to be "maybe his greatest work".

"The contrast of the pieces shows many aspects of the orchestra. I think they do particularly well with these music pieces," says the conductor, adding that pianist Liu wanted to play Maurice Ravel, and that's why Saint-Saens' Third Symphony was selected.

According to Chung, the mission of the orchestra is to serve the composer and to understand and convey the essence of the work, rather than getting caught up in regional or stylistic differences.

"When I was young, people asked why a pianist from Asia played music pieces from the West. But now there are no such questions," he says. "Music is a result of collaborations between the orchestra and the conductor, which cannot be defined by where the orchestra comes from — China, Spain or America."

Born in Seoul in 1953, Chung began his career as a pianist, taking the second prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1974. He moved to the United States to study conducting at the Juilliard School in 1978. Throughout his career as a conductor, he has led many of the world's most renowned orchestras across Europe, Asia and the US. Milan's La Scala announced in May that Chung will take the post of music director in 2027. Chung will be the first Asian conductor and the second non-Italian musician to hold the position.

The China NCPA Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Since its founding in 2010, it has established itself as one of the most adventurous and dynamic orchestras in the country and has earned an international reputation through extensive touring and recordings.

Through its demanding schedule of concerts and opera performances, the orchestra serves as a major cultural powerhouse, propelling China's musical landscape forward. In this capacity, the orchestra has performed in over 70 opera productions by the NCPA, making it one of the few leading orchestras alongside the Vienna Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Dresden to regularly perform in the concert hall and the opera pit.

The orchestra presents over 100 concerts a year to a live audience of nearly 200,000 and an online concert series drawing an audience of 20 million viewers on average.

"Based in the capital city of a country often regarded as the future of classical music, the China NCPA Orchestra is committed to reshaping China's entertainment industry as well as bringing the power of classical music to audiences across the world," says Ren Xiaolong, the China NCPA Orchestra's CEO.

"Therefore, our first European tour is the perfect way to celebrate our 15th anniversary. With maestro Chung and Bruce Liu, our musicians are bringing a distinctively creative program that combines romantic French works and contemporary Chinese music. We look forward to meeting our audiences across Europe in August."

Chung agrees. "It's very heartwarming to see the orchestra's growth in the past 10 years. I have worked with La Scala for over 34 years. The orchestra (China NCPA Orchestra) and our friendship are still young."