Myung-Whun Chung

Myung-Whun Chung began his career as a pianist (winning Second Prize in the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1974), and has since become one of the leading conductors of his generation. Taken under Carlo Maria Giulini's wing in Los Angeles, he became Music Director of Florence's Teatro Communale (1986-1989), then of the Opéra Bastille (1989-1994), where he introduced the work of Olivier Messiaen. Later, the Korean conductor led the Orchestra of the Academy of St. Cecilia in Rome, before returning to Paris to lead the Orchestre de Radio-France from 2000 to 2015. In addition to his activities as a musician, Myung-Whun Chung is involved in numerous humanitarian missions in favor of ecology and musical education. Awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1992, he received South Korea's highest honor, the Kumkuan, in 1996.