RESOUNDING ECHOES: From August 2022, Robert McCarney's regular series features little-known twentieth century classical composers.
VIDEO PODCAST: Discussion about Bernard Haitink (1929-2021), Salzburg, Roger Doyle's Finnegans Wake Project, the English Symphony Orchestra, the Chopin Competition Warsaw, Los Angeles Opera and other subjects.
South Korean pianist and conductor Myung-whun Chung was born in Seoul on 22 January 1953. He studied piano with Maria Curcio, beginning his career as a pianist, then studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music and at Juilliard.
He was chief conductor of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken (1984-90), principal guest conductor of the Teatro Comunale di Firenze (1987-92), music director of Opéra de Paris-Bastille (1989-94), principal conductor of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (1997-2005) and was principal conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (2005-15). He has been principal guest conductor of Staatskapelle Dresden since 2012, and has conducted most major orchestras in North America and Europe.
Myung-whun Chung records exclusively for the Deutsche Grammophon label, and has received a series of awards and honours.