Shanghai conductor appointed to No 2 spot at Hong Kong Philharmonic
Yu Long will serve as principal guest conductor, the first to hold the seat since it was vacated in 1993, in an overture to mainland music circles
The tale of two cities between Hong Kong and Shanghai has opened a new musical chapter with the appointment of a top mainland conductor to lead the local flagship orchestra.
Yu Long, music director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra as well as the China Philharmonic and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, has been named principal guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
The decision, which received unanimous approval from both the orchestra's board and the players' artistic committee, made Yu, 50, the first mainland conductor to take up the second-in-command post at the city's top orchestra since the position was first opened in 1982. It has been vacant since the last principal guest conductor, Kenneth Jean, left in 1993.
"I am extremely honoured with this appointment because mainland people always talk about HK Phil as a model," Yu said. "It is a dream for us musicians to be a part of it since its historic tour in 1986 and I am thankful to maestro van Zweden for giving me that opportunity."
Jaap van Zweden, the Philharmonic's music director since 2012, said he had eyed Yu for two years because he regarded the Shanghai musician as "a great conductor" and "a real ambassador for China and its talents".
He went on: "Collaboration in the days we live in is a very important one because if you take the biggest talents in China, put them together with us, let both parties inspire and be inspired, you could have a good and interesting combination."
In the initial three-year term starting this September, Yu will perform three to four concerts during each orchestra season. With his commitments in China, including leading three orchestras, the Beijing Music Festival and the Shanghai Orchestra Academy in addition to guest conducting in Europe and the United States, the Shanghai native said he had to cancel some of his scheduled concerts to make time for Hong Kong.