Yu Long (; born July 1, 1964) is a Chinese conductor. He is currently artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic and of the

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra in Shanghai, China. Its music director is Long Yu. Founded in 1879, the SSO is the oldest List of symphony orchestras#China, Chinese symphony orchestra. Originally, it was known as the ...

, music director of the

Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra The Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO; ) is an orchestra based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It was founded in 1957. The orchestra's current artistic director is Long Yu ( 余隆). It is the only Chinese symphony orchestra that has toured five cont ...

, and principal guest conductor of the

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra based in Hong Kong. Colloquially referred to as the HKPO or HKPhil (), the orchestra was first established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Sino-British Orchestra (), ...

. Yu is also the Chairman of the Artistic Committee of the

Beijing Music Festival The Beijing Music Festival (BMF) is an annual music festival held in Beijing which according to the Chinese Ministry of Culture (China), Ministry of Culture has become one of the most well-known musical events in the world, drawing international ...

and co-director of the Music in the Summer Air Festival (MISA).

Biography

The son of a pianist mother Ding Jiannuo and a choreographer father Yu Lixun Yu was born into a family of musicians in

Shanghai, China Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and grew up during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. Yu received his early childhood music education beginning with piano studies from his grandfather, the composer

Ding Shande Ding Shande (; November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1995) was a Chinese composer, pianist, and music teacher. Biography Ding was born in Kunshan, Jiangsu. He studied music with teachers including Huang Tzu at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. D ...

. He continued his piano studies at the

Shanghai Conservatory of Music The Shanghai Conservatory of Music (SHCMusic) is a municipal public college in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the City of Shanghai and is part of the Double First-Class Construction. The college was founded on November 27, 1927. The Sh ...

, and also began conducting studies, graduating from the conservatory in 1987. He further studied music in Europe at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

. After returning from Europe, Yu was appointed principal conductor of the Central Opera Theatre in Beijing in 1992, serving for three years. He produced operas for the

Urban Council of Hong Kong The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

for five years. He was a founder of the

(BMF) in 1998, becoming its first artistic director. In 2000, the Chinese government invited Yu to assume leadership of the China Broadcasting Symphony (also called the China National Symphony). Yu held open auditions, becoming the first Chinese orchestra to recruit all its performers this way. The symphony was renamed the

China Philharmonic Orchestra The China Philharmonic Orchestra (; abbreviated CPO) is an orchestra founded in Beijing, China, on May 25, 2000, based on the previous China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. It is a division of the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Telev ...

. In 2008, Yu and the China Philharmonic performed for

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, as part of increased diplomatic initiative between China and the Vatican. In July 2014, the China Philharmonic was the first Chinese orchestra to perform at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

. In 2003, the

appointed Yu its music director. In 2009, the

appointed Yu its music director. During his tenure, the orchestra has begun its Music in the Summer Air Festival (MISA) in August 2010, constructed a new home for the orchestra (the Shanghai Symphony Hall) in 2014, established the Shanghai Orchestra Academy in 2014, and begun the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition in 2016. Yu has shared the position of Artistic Co-Director of the Music In the Summer Air Festival (MISA) with

Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit is a Swiss conductor. He is the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal Award. Dutoit held previous positions ...

since the festival's launch in 2010. In January 2015, Yu was named principal guest conductor of the

, the first appointment of a mainland Chinese conductor to the position. In June 2018,

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

announced an exclusive recording deal with Yu and

(SSO).

Select discography

Honors and awards

* 2002: Arts Patronage Award of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation * 2003: '' Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'', France * 2005: ''L'onorificenza di commendatore'', Italy * December 2014: Chevalier de la

Légion d’Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, France * October 2015:

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

Global Citizen Award * April 2016: Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other F ...

* June 2016:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

References

External links

*
Askonas Holt management biography of Long YuCompose 20:20 Project
* ttp://www.gso.org.cn/en/portfolio/artist-long-yu/ Guangzhou Symphony biography of Long Yubr>Music in the Summer Air page on Long Yu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu, Long 1964 births Living people Deutsche Grammophon artists Musicians from Shanghai Shanghai Conservatory of Music alumni Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Knights of the Legion of Honour Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 21st-century Chinese conductors (music) Chinese musicians Chinese art directors Berlin University of the Arts alumni