Latest news with #MyungwhunChung
New York Times
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Hear the Sound of a New Generation of South Korean Musicians
'Compare Korea to China or Russia,' the composer Unsuk Chin said in a recent interview. 'If you think how small the country is, it's amazing how many talented musicians are coming out.' South Korean artists are prominent on classical music's most prestigious stages. The young pianists Seong-Jin Cho and Yunchan Lim sell out Carnegie Hall. The conductor Myung-whun Chung was recently named the next music director of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Chin's new opera, 'The Dark Side of the Moon,' premiered in Hamburg in May. Now, to explore South Korea's creative output, the Los Angeles Philharmonic is presenting the Seoul Festival from Tuesday through June 10. It is the latest in a series of themed Philharmonic events, including dives into Iceland and Mexico. Around 2018, the orchestra and its artistic leader at the time, Chad Smith, asked Chin to help plan a South Korean iteration, but the plans were derailed by the pandemic. About half of the original programming has made it intact onto this year's concerts. 'I really wanted to present the youngest generation of composers, conductors and musicians,' said Chin, 63. That generation has emerged from what she called 'a very long cultural tradition.' The country's embrace of Western musical culture began around the turn of the 20th century, and a Western-style compositional tradition took hold with figures like Isang Yun (1917-95), who wrote avant-garde music for Western instruments — but with a style that attempted to translate old-school Korean techniques. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
La Scala Taps South Korean Maestro as Music Director
The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, one of the world's most revered opera houses, announced on Monday that its next music director would be the South Korean conductor Myung-whun Chung. Chung, 72, a veteran who has led renowned ensembles in Europe and Asia, will succeed the Italian maestro Riccardo Chailly, who started in 2015. Chung will be the first Asian — and one of the first conductors born outside Italy — to serve as music director in La Scala's 247-year history. He will take the podium in late 2026 for an initial term of about three years. The selection of Chung is one of the most important decisions so far under Fortunato Ortombina, the Italian impresario who took over as superintendent and artistic director of La Scala in February. Ortombina nominated Chung for music director, and La Scala's board unanimously approved the choice on Monday, the opera house said in a statement. The statement called Chung, who has been a regular at La Scala since 1989, 'one of the most beloved artists among the Milanese public.' Chung has conducted 84 performances of nine operas at La Scala, in addition to 141 concerts. Chung holds the record for the most appearances at the opera house, aside from music directors, according to La Scala. In 2023, he was named honorary conductor of the Filarmonica della Scala in Milano, an ensemble of La Scala musicians, the first maestro to receive that designation. The statement called Chung, who has appeared with La Scala singers and musicians on global tours, 'the conductor who has most contributed to the international prestige of the Teatro alla Scala, excluding its music directors.' Representatives for La Scala and Chung did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chung, who lives in France and South Korea, was born in Seoul and moved at age 8 to the United States, where he studied music. He has led many prestigious ensembles, including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. He has visited North Korea to push for closer cultural ties between the North and South. At La Scala, Chung will serve under Ortombina, whose tenure is still taking shape. Ortombina was chosen to lead La Scala during a nationalistic time for the arts in Italy, with government leaders making clear they favor homegrown talent over foreigners for major cultural posts. But the cultural and political establishment did not stand in the way of La Scala's selection of Chung. 'La Scala has the total right and autonomy of choice; I do not intervene on this,' Alessandro Giuli, the Italian minister of culture, told reporters, according to a report in La Repubblica, one of the country's major newspapers.
Washington Post
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
South Korean conductor Myung-Whun Chung named La Scala's first-ever Asian musical conductor
MILAN — South Korean conductor Myung-whun Chung was named on Monday the new musical director of the famed Milan opera house, Teatro alla Scala , the first Asian to hold the position. Chung, 72, will replace Riccardo Chailly at the end of next year, and will remain in the role until general manager and artistic director Fortunato Ortombina's term ends in February 2030, La Scala said in a statement.
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
South Korean conductor Myung-Whun Chung named La Scala's first-ever Asian musical conductor
South Korean conductor Myung-whun Chung was named on Monday the new musical director of the famed Milan opera house, Teatro alla Scala, the first Asian to hold the position. Chung, 72, will replace Riccardo Chailly at the end of next year, and will remain in the role until general manager and artistic director Fortunato Ortombina's term ends in February 2030, La Scala said in a statement. Chung, who is also a renowned pianist, has conducted many of the world's most famous orchestras, and is a towering cultural figure in South Korea. La Scala noted his 'close and productive' relationship with La Scala's orchestra, choir and philharmonic, and credited him with doing more than any other any non-musical director to raise La Scala's international profile. Since 1989, Chung has conducted nine operas in 84 performances, and 141 concerts at La Scala — the most of any conductor who was not a musical director. He also has conducted La Scala's Philharmonic on tours throughout Italy and abroad, including in Germany, China, Japan and South Korea. Among his numerous posts, Chung has previously been music director of the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Paris and the Korean Broadcasting System, as well as artistic director of the Busan Opera and Concert Hall in South Korea.
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
South Korean conductor Myung-Whun Chung named La Scala's first-ever Asian musical conductor
MILAN (AP) — South Korean conductor Myung-whun Chung was named on Monday the new musical director of the famed Milan opera house, Teatro alla Scala, the first Asian to hold the position. Chung, 72, will replace Riccardo Chailly at the end of next year, and will remain in the role until general manager and artistic director Fortunato Ortombina's term ends in February 2030, La Scala said in a statement. Chung, who is also a renowned pianist, has conducted many of the world's most famous orchestras, and is a towering cultural figure in South Korea. La Scala noted his 'close and productive' relationship with La Scala's orchestra, choir and philharmonic, and credited him with doing more than any other any non-musical director to raise La Scala's international profile. Since 1989, Chung has conducted nine operas in 84 performances, and 141 concerts at La Scala — the most of any conductor who was not a musical director. He also has conducted La Scala's Philharmonic on tours throughout Italy and abroad, including in Germany, China, Japan and South Korea. Among his numerous posts, Chung has previously been music director of the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Paris and the Korean Broadcasting System, as well as artistic director of the Busan Opera and Concert Hall in South Korea.
