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.
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Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 - Aladdin Suite
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 31 jan. 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen: Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum / Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 18 mei 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op.14 / Dutilleux: Métaboles
Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 1 aug. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
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 -
Ben Heppner - French Opera Arias
Ben Heppner, London Symphony Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung
Opera - Released by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg on 13 nov. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen - Garden of Love's Sleep
Daniel Barenboim, Olivier Latry, Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 2008
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
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sanctus II - Eine Hymne Fur Die Welt
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Myung-Whun Chung: Mahler Symphonies
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 12 jan. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chin: Cello Concerto: II.
Berliner Philharmoniker, Myung-Whun Chung, Alban Gerhardt
Concertmuziek - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on 15 dec. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Unsuk Chin: 3 Concertos
Myung-Whun Chung, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Sunwook Kim, Alban Gerhardt, Wu Wei
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Ltd. on 17 jun. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Bizet Weekend
Claudio Abbado, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
French Opera Arias
Kathleen Battle, Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
French Opera Arias (Kathleen Battle Edition, Vol. 4)
Kathleen Battle, Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 - Violin Concerto
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 31 jan. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roméo et Juliette
Valérie de La Rochefoucauld, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Myung-Whun Chung
Sprookjes en vertellingen - Released by Didier Jeunesse on 15 okt. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Complete Orchestral Music, Vol. 2
Olle Schill, Göteborgs Symfoniker, Myung-Whun Chung
Opera - Released by BIS on 1 jan. 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1-6 - Violin Concerto - Flute Concerto - Clarinet Concerto
Myung-Whun Chung, Patrick Gallois, Neeme Järvi, Dong-Suk Kang, Olle Schill
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 jan. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorak: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8
Göteborgs Symfoniker, Myung-Whun Chung
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 30 sep. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila, Op. 47
Myung-Whun Chung, Waltraud Meier, Plácido Domingo, Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 dec. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo