About this Artist
Preeminent Chinese conductor, with an established international reputation, LONG YU is currently Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of the Shanghai and Guangzhou symphony orchestras, the co-director of the MISA Shanghai Summer Music Festival, and the principal guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Long Yu frequently conducts leading orchestras and opera companies around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg State Opera, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester Leipzig, NDR Sinfonieorchester, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. In 2008, for the first time in history, the China Philharmonic Orchestra performed under the baton of maestro Long Yu at the Vatican in the Paul VI Auditorium. The concert was attended by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XIV and marked a giant step in bringing Eastern and Western cultures closer together.
Long Yu’s career has included both artistic and administrative appointments. In 1992, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Central Opera Theater in Beijing and was involved in the planning of the Chinese New Year’s concert series later that year; he served as its conductor for three consecutive years. He created opera productions for the Urban Council of Hong Kong for five successive years. In 1998, he led the creation of the Beijing Music Festival and has been its Artistic Director ever since. Under his leadership the Beijing Music Festival is regarded as one of the world’s most important music festivals. In 2005, with the provincial government’s support, he built up the Canton International Summer Music Academy and became its Chairman for the following three years. He also established the MISA Shanghai Summer Music Festival in 2010 and, later that year, the Canton Asian Music Festival.
Born in 1964 into a music family in Shanghai, Long Yu received his early musical education from his grandfather, Ding Shande, a composer of great renown, and went on to study at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin. He was the recipient of the 2002 Arts Patronage Award of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation. He has also been awarded the Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2003, and the title of L’onorificenza di commendatore by Italy’s President Berlusconi in 2005 for his outstanding contributions in the field of music and culture. In 2010, Long Yu was made an Honorary Academician from the Central Conservatory of Beijing for his great dedication to cultural exchanging and music development in China. In December 2010, he was awarded Person of the Year in the Arts Field in China. In 2013, Long Yu was awarded the national level China Arts Award. In December 2014, he was awarded France’s highest honor of merit, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. In 2015, Long Yu was named Morally and Artistically Excellent Artist by state authority. He was also honored with the Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council, and given the Sanford Medal by Yale University’s College of Music in 2015. In April 2016, Long Yu was elected as a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In June 2016, he was an award recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Long Yu is currently Vice-President of the Chinese Musicians Association.