Muhai TANG, conductor

Muhai TANG is currently Chief Conductor of Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. This is his fifth position as Principal Conductor following successful tenures with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, China National Symphony Orchestra and the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon. He was Principal Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra for 12 years, from 1987 to 2000, enhancing the orchestra's reputation with international tours and recordings. It has recently been announced that he will be nstlerischer Leiter und Chefdirigent of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra from August 2006, an appointment with an initial term of four years. In addition he assumes the title of Conductor Laureate and Artistic Advisor at the Queensland Orchestra from the 2005/06 season.
With the Finnish National Opera Muhai Tang has conducted highly successful new productions of Turandot, Der Rosenkavalier and Pique Dame, and also Madama Butterfly, Tosca, La Rondine, Boris Godunov, The Marriage of Figaro and La Traviata. This season he conducts a new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten, as well as The Barber of Seville and Othello . His ballet performances with the company have included an acclaimed Sacre du Printemps, and a new production of Swan Lake. Son of a famous film director in China, Muhai Tang has always been drawn to the musical stage, and has conducted opera on several continents. He maintains close links with China, returning regularly to conduct in Beijing and Shanghai. In Summer 2005 he
conducted the Shanghai Conservatory Orchestra, where he studied himself, in Berlin as part of the Young Euro Classic Festival in which 17 youth orchestras performed in 17 days.
Mr Tang's international recognition began, after further studies in Munich, when Herbert von Karajan invited him to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in its 1983 subscription series. This success led to repeat appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic and invitations from many of the world's leading orchestras, such as the London Philharmonic, Leipzig
Gewandhaus, Staatskapelle Dresden, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony amongst others.
He has an extraordinarily wide repertoire, ranging from Bach to composers of today, and this new position as nstlerischer Leiter und Chefdirigent of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra is an opportunity for him to explore the chamber
orchestra repertoire which has always been close to his heart.
Muhai Tang has appeared as guest conductor on four continents and at music festivals in Prague, Berlin, Edinburgh, Verona and Bergen. He is a favourite with audiences and musicians alike; he has an engaging stage presence and graceful and natural technique. He has worked with numerous great artists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman,
Jean-Pierre Rampal, Martha Argerich and Anne-Sophie Mutter to name just a few.
In the 2005/06 season Muhai Tang conducts his Finnish National Opera Orchestra at the Turku Festival and the opening concerts of the Bern Symphony Orchestra's season. Other guest conducting engagements include the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille and the Gulbenkian Orchestra . He will also conduct the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra on tour in China.
Among Muhai Tang's many recordings the Guitar Concertos by Tan Dun and Christopher Rouse with Sharon Isbin and the Gulbenkian Orchestra, for Teldec, was awarded a Grammy in 2002.