Muhai Tang (; born 1949 in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

) is a Chinese conductor. He is the youngest son of celebrated Chinese film director

Tang Xiaodan Tang Xiaodan (; 22 February 1910 – 21 January 2012) was a Chinese film director. In 1984, he won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Director. He was the father of painter Tang Muli and conductor Tang Muhai. Filmography This is a partial l ...

and brother of painter and poet Tang Muli. Tang initially learned music with his parents, and later studied composition and conducting at the

Shanghai Conservatory of Music The Shanghai Conservatory of Music () was founded on November 27, 1927, as the first music institution of higher education in China. Its teachers and students have won awards at home and abroad, thus earning the conservatory the name "the crad ...

, receiving his diploma in both. He furthered his studies in conducting with

Hermann Michael Hermann Michael (1937–2005) was a German symphonic and opera conductor. He studied piano and cello at the Stuttgart Conservatory and had not formally studied conducting when he audited a master class led by Herbert von Karajan in Berlin in ...

at the

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. His international career started when

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

invited him to conduct the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was f ...

during the 1983-1984 season. This invitation was later renewed. He was the chief conductor of the

Gulbenkian Orchestra The Gulbenkian Orchestra ( pt, Orquestra Gulbenkian) is a Portuguese symphony orchestra based in Lisbon. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Grande Auditório'' (Grand Auditorium) of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The orchestra, which was f ...

in Lisbon from 1988 until 2001. From 1991 to 1995, he was chief conductor of DePhilharmonie (

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is the symphony orchestra of Flanders (Belgium), based in the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. The orchestra is led by chief conductor Elim Chan and honorary conductor Philippe Herreweghe. The organisation, which is o ...

). He made his US debut with the

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San F ...

in 1988. Tang was chief conductor of the

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, t ...

(QSO), the last chief conductor prior to the orchestra's renaming as the Queensland Orchestra. In November 2005, he became the orchestra's conductor laureate. From 2003 to 2006, Tang served as Chief Conductor of the

Finnish National Opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the T ...

. From 2006 to 2011, Tang was artistic director and principal conductor of the Zürcher Kammerorchester (Zurich Chamber Orchestra), and became principal guest conductor in 2011. From 2010 until 2015, he was chief conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. As conductor, he was awarded the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition for Christopher Rouse's ''

Concert de Gaudí ''Concert de Gaudí'' is a concerto for classical guitar and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was jointly commissioned by Norddeutscher Rundfunk and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the guitarist Sharon Isbin, ...

''.

References

External links

The Queensland Orchestra, 2005 Annual Report
1949 births Living people Chinese conductors (music) University of Music and Performing Arts Munich alumni Musicians from Shanghai 21st-century conductors (music) Shanghai Conservatory of Music alumni 21st-century Chinese musicians 21st-century male musicians 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Chinese musicians 20th-century male musicians Chinese musicians Chinese art directors {{china-musician-stub