Myung-Whun Chung

Myung-whun Chung (born 22 January 1953, Seoul) is a South Korean conductor and pianist. Chung studied piano with Maria Curcio and won joint second-prize in the 1974 International Tchaikovsky Competition. He performed in the Chung Trio with his sisters, violinist Kyung-wha Chung and cellist Myung-wha Chung. Chung studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music and the Juilliard School. He has conducted virtually all the prominent European and American orchestras including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic, among others. Chung was chief conductor of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken from 1984 to 1990, and principal guest conductor of the Teatro Comunale Florence from 1987 to 1992. At the end of the 1987-88 seasons, he received the Premio Abbiati award from Italian critics, and the following year awarded the Arturo Toscanini prize. Chung was the Paris Opera's music director from 1989 to 1994, during which time he opened the inaugural season at the new Opéra Bastille. He opened the inaugural season at the new Opéra Bastille with Berlioz's complete Les Troyens and received highly praised reviews from the music circle. In 1991, the Association of French Theatres and Music Critics named him "Artist of the year" and in 1992 he received the Legion d'Honneur for his contribution to the Paris Opéra. An exclusive recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon since 1990,…