Myung-Whun Chung
Myung-Whun Chung is one of the leading conductors of his generation. Also a prize-winning pianist, he is particularly noted for his interpretations of the music of French composer Olivier Messiaen.
There has rarely been as talented a group of siblings as Myung-Whun and his two older sisters, cellist Myung-Wha Chung (born 1944) and violinist Kyung-Wha Chung (born 1948). Myung-Whun made his performing debut as a pianist in Seoul at the age of 7. At 8, he flew to Seattle, WA, to begin his American musical studies. He attended the Mannes School, and later the Juilliard School in New York. His teachers there were Nadia Reisenberg (piano) and Carl Bramburger (conducting).
Chung won the New York Times piano competition in 1970. He made a conducting debut back in Seoul in 1971, conducting the Korean Symphony Orchestra. In 1974, he entered the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow as a pianist, winning second prize. He and his sisters began performing as a trio while he continued conducting studies at Juilliard, conducting both the New York Youth Orchestra and the Pre-College Orchestra of the Juilliard School. Carlo Maria Giulini, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, engaged Chung as his assistant in 1978. Two years later on Giulini's recommendation, the orchestra named Chung its associate conductor. In 1984, Chung became music director and principal conductor of the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra in Germany. He made his triumphant New York debut in 1986 conducting the Metropolitan Opera's production of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. Later in 1986, he also delivered a brilliant performance in Paris of Prokofiev's rarely heard opera The Fiery Angel. In 1987, he was appointed principal guest conductor of the Teatro Communale of Florence, Italy (1987-1992). He received two major Italian awards during this period, the Premio Abbiata and the 1989 Arturo Toscanini Prize. In 1989 Chung became music director of the Opéra-Paris-Bastille. His performances included Messiaen's Saint-François d'Assise and Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District. He became noted for his renditions of the complex music of Messiaen. The composer rewarded Chung by dedicating and entrusting the world premiere of his last work, the Concert à quatre (1994), to him. In 1992, the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor for his contributions to the Paris Opera. This did not prevent an angry parting resulting from a change of administration at the French Ministry of Culture in 1994. He has frequently guest conducted in such venues as La Scala Milan, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the leading international orchestras. After leaving the Bastille Opera post he has been principal conductor of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra.
In the early '80s he began work to present "environmental concerts" to allow the audience to accept environmental problems "with their hearts." He seeks a closer relationship between the two parts of his divided country, and has premiered the music of Isang Yun, a South Korean-born composer with similar views. Chung held concerts to raise money for rice to be shipped to famine-stricken North Korea. When he won the Ho-Am Prize from the Samsung Group (worth $111,000), he donated it all to the Korean Red Cross to alleviate the starvation in North Korea.
He also promotes an anti-drug message in his concerts, leading him in 1992 to be named Ambassador of the Drug Control Program at the United Nations. He was 1995's UNESCO "Man of the Year" and in 1996 won the highest cultural award of the Korean government. He returned to Korea to become music director of the Korean Broadcasting Symphony, and is the first Honorary Cultural Ambassador for Korea.
© TiVo
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Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Boléro, Ma mère l'Oye, Le Tombeau de Couperin
Myung-Whun Chung, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Roger Muraro
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on 12 sep. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: The Firebird (Ballet Suite)
Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 23 jun. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 8 nov. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen: Trois petites liturgies; Couleurs de la Cité Céleste; Hymne au Saint-Sacrament
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorák: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 3 apr. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps
Gil Shaham, Paul Meyer, Jian Wang, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler Symphony No.2
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Ltd. on 1 jan. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos
Sayaka Shoji, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music LLC on 3 mei 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorák: Symphony No.3 In E Flat, Op.10, B. 34 & Symphony No.7 In D Minor, Op.70, B. 141
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich, D.: Symphony No. 5
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by CSO Resound on 17 nov. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 & 6 Piano Pieces, Op. 118
Sunwook Kim, Staatskapelle Dresden, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Accentus Music on 11 sep. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade / Stravinsky: Firebird
Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Romance in E minor; Violin Romances Opp.40 & 50
Philharmonia Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler Symphony No.5 (Live)
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Ltd. on 22 jun. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms : Double Concerto in A minor Op.102
Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 27 mei 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven·Saint-Saëns·Choi Sunghwan (Live)
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung, Dong-ill Shin
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Ltd. on 17 feb. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Oliver Messiaen: Des Canyons aux étoiles
Roger Muraro, Orchestra Philharmonic De Radio France, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade / Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille, Myung-Whun Chung, Frédéric Laroque
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven : Concerto No.5 “Emperor” - Symphony No.5
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung, Sunwook Kim
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Ltd. on 1 jan. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cecilia Bartoli - Chant d'Amour
Cecilia Bartoli, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sacred Arias (Remastered)
Andrea Bocelli, Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 9 nov. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo