Myung-whun Chung

Myung-whun Chung (born 22 January 1953, Seoul) is a South Korean pianist and conductor.

His sisters, violinist Kyung-wha Chung, and cellist Myung-wha Chung, and he at one time performed together as the Chung Trio. He was a joined second-prize winner in the 1974 International Tchaikovsky Competition., International Tchaikovsky Competition Chung studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music and the Juilliard School. He also studied piano with Maria Curcio, the last and favourite pupil of Artur Schnabel. Chung was an assistant conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic during the music directorship of Carlo Maria Giulini and founder of the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra.

In Europe, Chung was chief conductor of the Saarland Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1984 to 1990. He was principal guest conductor of the Teatro Comunale Florence, from 1987 to 1992. He has conducted virtually all the prominent European and American orchestras and made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1986 with Simon Boccanegra. At the end of the 1987/88 seasons, he received the Premio Abbiati Award from Italian critics, and the following year the Arturo Toscanini prize. From 1989 to 1994, Chung served as the Music Director of the Paris Opera. He opened the inaugural season at the new Opéra Bastille with Berlioz's complete Les Troyens and received highly...
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