Long Yu

Chinese conductor Long Yu, whom the New York Times crowned "the most influential figure in China's classical music scene," boasts a brilliant career both at home and abroad. His mission is to bridge barriers between different cultures, and in doing so, he fosters China's growing relationship with classical music while introducing international audiences to the country's greatest musicians and composers. Yu currently holds top positions with China's three most renowned orchestras – as Artistic Director of the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing and Music Director of the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras – and is Principal Guest Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He is Co-Director of the MISA Summer Festival in Shanghai and Chairman of the Artistic Committee of the Beijing Music Festival, an annual autumn event he founded in 1998 and served as Artistic Director until 2017. He is also currently Vice President of the China Musicians Association and Chairman of the recently established League of China Orchestras. Under Yu's baton, the China Philharmonic Orchestra became the first Chinese orchestra to perform in the Vatican's audience hall, the "Aula Paolo VI." The concert, attended by Pope Benedict XVI, was a significant bridge between East and West. In 2014, Yu and the ensemble gave the first concert by a Chinese orchestra at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London – an event watched by millions of television viewers in the UK. Among Yu's outstanding activities with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, which he took over in 2009, was the opening of the Shanghai Symphony Hall in 2014. In the same year, he founded the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, China's first postgraduate training program for orchestral musicians, in partnership with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the New York Philharmonic. The latter appointed Yu an honorary member of its International Advisory Board, a 12-member network of patrons and ambassadors who connect the American orchestra with personalities and institutions in their respective home countries. In 2016, he launched the biennial Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition – he has maintained close ties with the violinist's family since Stern's appearance at the Beijing Music Festival in 2000 to mark the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking China tour. In June 2018, Long Yu became the first Chinese conductor to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, opening up a global publishing and distribution partnership for the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Their first DG album, Live from the Forbidden City, was a recording of the gala concert in Beijing for the label's 120th anniversary and was released in January 2019. This was followed by Gateways (June 2019) and The Song of the Earth, which pairs Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the world premiere recording of Xiaogang Ye's setting of the same texts in the original Mandarin version (July 2021). In 2019, Yu led the orchestra on a tour of the USA and Europe with appearances at the BBC Proms and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, as well as at festivals in Edinburgh, Lucerne, and Ravinia. Long Yu first conducted the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in 1994, and has been its Music Director since 2003, expanding its repertoire, touring radius (to Europe, the USA, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East), and educational activities. Between 2005 and 2007, the GSO hosted the Canton International Summer Music Academy, whose high-caliber faculty included Martha Argerich and Gary Graffman. In January 2017, the GSO launched a concert and continuing education project titled Youth Music Culture Guangdong, which "opens a new chapter in China's symphonic world"; Yo-Yo Ma is the Artistic Director of the initiative, and Long Yu heads its artistic committee. Long Yu is also a towering figure in international concert life, having conducted many leading orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre de Paris, Bamberger Symphoniker, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Münchner Philharmoniker, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Born in Shanghai in 1964 to a musical family, Long Yu received his first music lessons from his grandfather, the esteemed composer Ding Shande, and then studied at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Berlin University of the Arts. In 1992, he became Chief Conductor of the Central Opera Theatre in Beijing, a position he held for three years. His accolades in his home country include being named Arts Person of the Year in 2010, receiving the China Arts Award in 2013, and being appointed an Honorary Academician by the Central Conservatory of Music for his contributions to cultural exchange and musical development in China. Long Yu has also received numerous international honors. In 2002, he received the Arts Patronage Award from the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, and the following year he was made a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France. In 2005, the Italian government honored him with the title of Commendatore dell’Ordine al merito. In 2014, he received France's highest order of merit, being appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honor. A year later, Yu was awarded the prestigious Global Citizen Award by the Atlantic Council and the Samuel Simons Sanford Award by the Yale School of Music. In 2016, he was elected an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and also received the German Federal Cross of Merit. In 2018, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts awarded him an honorary doctorate. 2021