Shakespearean drama from the China NCPA Orchestra

Myung-whun Chung conducts the China NCPA Orchestra

Bruce Liu and the China NCPA Orchestra

The China NCPA Orchestra in the Elbphilharmonie

By Mengguang Huang, 15 August 2025

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“impressed through refined taste, balance and musical integrity”

Reviewed at Elbphilharmonie: Grand Hall, Hamburg on 15 August 2025

Chen, The Five Elements

Ravel, Piano Concerto in G major

Chopin, Nocturne in C sharp minor, "Lento Con Gran Espressione", Op. posth, B 49

Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet: excerpts

Bizet, Carmen: Prelude to Act 1

China National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra

Bruce Liu, Piano

Myung-whun Chung, Conductor

Schumann from the inside out: Yunchan Lim and Staatskapelle Dresden

SangKwon Lee, 1st February

Yunchan Lim seldom seeks the spotlight in a reflective, conversational account of Schumann's Piano Concerto, conducted by Myung-whun Chung.

*****

Myung‑whun Chung launches a new KBS Symphony chapter in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 16th January

In Myung-whun Chung’s first concert as the orchestra’s tenth Music Director, Leonidas Kavakos’ account of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is built on exposure rather than varnish.

***11

Tokyo Philharmonic and Myung-whun Chung launch European tour in Berlin

Elena Luporini, 28th October

The Tokyo Philharmonic visits the Berlin Philharmonie to bring finesse to a catchy programme featuring Bernstein, Gershwin and Prokofiev.

****1

Mao Fujita’s Mozart and Myung‑whun Chung’s Fantastique in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 29th August

An evening at the Seoul Arts Center in which clarity matters as much as volume and the most telling virtuosity comes from a refusal to grandstand.

****1

Unity in Sound: Myung-whun Chung leads KBS and Tokyo Phil in Mahler 1

SangKwon Lee, 3rd March

Like the grainy intensity of a high-contrast black-and-white photograph, these rugged edges accentuated Mahler’s expressive extremes, reaffirming the conductor’s innate flair for crafting a grand aesthetic narrative within the symphony’s expansive architecture.

****1

Back-to-back Beethoven: Myung-whun Chung and the Tokyo Philharmonic

Nahoko Gotoh, 25th February

Beethoven's Triple Concerto has a reputation of being a problematic work, but Myung-Whun Chung and the Tokyo Philharmonic prove otherwise in an emphatic performance.

****1

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Mengguang Huang

Mengguang Huang is a Hamburg-based project manager in the construction industry. With a strong passion for classical music, he was introduced to the world of early music during his time in the UK, where he developed a particular fondness for renaissance and Baroque vocal music. Driven by his love for this genre, he now makes it a priority to attend major Baroque opera productions and concerts across Western Europe whenever possible, continuing to deepen his appreciation for this rich musical tradition.

Elemental colours and Shakespearean drama from the China NCPA Orchestra in Hamburg