Hu Kun is a Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 violinist

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 and conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

.

Biography

Hu Kun was born in China just before the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

 and started playing violin and piano at age of six with his parents, and moved in the 70s to Beijing to be the soloist of the China Central Radio Symphony Orchestra, in 1980 he won the fifth prize of the Sibelius International Violin Competition, being the first Chinese citizen to win prize at a major international violin competition, in 1984 he graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music

Central Conservatory of Music

The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. He has also won prizes in the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition

Queen Elisabeth Music Competition

The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...

, Francescatti Violin Competition, Lipizer Violin Competition, Palm Beach Violin Competition and the Menuhin Violin Competition.

Hu Kun has been soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...

, Philharmonia Orchestra

Philharmonia Orchestra

The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...

, Orchestre de Paris

Orchestre de Paris

The Orchestre de Paris is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs most of its concerts at the Salle Pleyel.-History:In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, conductor Charles Munch was called on by the Minister of Culture,...

, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra can refer to one of two orchestras:* The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, known from 1956 to 1993 as the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and situated in West Berlin during the Cold War...

, MDR Symphony Orchestra‎, BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is a broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow, Scotland. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation , it is the oldest full-time professional orchestra in Scotland...

, Halle Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra

RTÉ Concert Orchestra

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full time professional orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, has grown from a small studio-based recording group to...

, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, in German Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is the internationally renowned orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk , based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the three principal orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Munich Philharmonic...

, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich

Tonhalle Orchester Zurich

Tonhalle Orchester Zürich is a symphony orchestra founded in 1868 in Zürich Switzerland, where it established its residence in the neue Tonhalle in 1895....

, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra

Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra

The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra is the main orchestra in the principality of Monaco...

, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra is a radio orchestra based in Stockholm, Sweden, and affiliated with Sveriges Radio . The orchestra broadcasts concerts on the Swedish Radio-P2 network....

, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra

Icelandic Symphony Orchestra

Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands is an orchestra based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The ISO is an autonomous public institution under the auspices of the Icelandic Ministry of Education...

, National Orchestra of Belgium

National Orchestra of Belgium

The Nationaal Orkest van België or Orchestre National de Belgique is the oldest of two major orchestras now in Belgium, along with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège....

 and the China National Symphony Orchestra

China National Symphony Orchestra

The China National Symphony Orchestra is China's national orchestra....

 conducted by conductors such as Tadaaki Otaka

Tadaaki Otaka

is a Japanese-born, British-based conductor. He studied composition, theory, and French horn, at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, and later was a conducting student of Hideo Saito....

 and Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...

. He has performed in virtually all the major concert venues and been broadcasted by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

, Classic FM

Classic FM (UK)

Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...

, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg

Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg

Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg is an institution under public law for the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, situated in Berlin and Potsdam...

, New York Classic FM

WCNY-FM

WCNY-FM is a public radio station in Syracuse, New York that plays classical music and is a National Public Radio member station...

 and NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

. In 2002 he gave the premier of Tan Dun’s violin concerto with the Dresden Philharmonic  and was featured in a documentary film, produced by Phoenix CNE Europe.

Kun has recorded for EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

, Nimbus Records (exclusive), ASV and China Records.

Hu Kun, who studied conducting with Sir Colin Davis, started his conducting career by making a last minute substitution in 1985.
He has been invited to conduct the China National Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra , Sichuan Symphony Orchestra

Sichuan Symphony Orchestra

The Sichuan Symphony Orchestra was established in 2002. The average age of musicians in SSO is 30, making it the youngest symphony orchestra in mid-western China. The performance schedule of the orchestra is the most vigorous...

, London Schubert Players, Emerald Ensemble

Emerald Ensemble

The Bristol Ensemble, formerly the Emerald Ensemble, is a professional chamber orchestra, based in Bristol, England. The ensemble has been in existence since 1994, when it was formed as a musician's collective by violinist Roger Huckle. Their repertoire includes classical, popular, jazz and...

 Bristol, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra

Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra

The Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra ) is based in Xiamen, Fujian Province, the People's Republic of China. It is one of the top orchestras in China, and is the only non-state-owned and self-financing orchestra in the country. Founded in 1998, XPO plays the majority of its concerts at Music Island...

.

He is also a professor of violin at the Royal Academy of Music

Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

External links

Hu Kun Official Website