Yang Yang

Born in a musical family, learned piano with Prof. Li Qifang. Later, he learned conducting respectively with Prof. Xu Xin and Prof. Wu Lingfen, and then was admitted to the Conducting Department of Central Conservatory of Music, being one of the students of Prof. Yu Feng, President of Central Conservatory of Music, Vice President of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and a famous conductor.

In November 2006, Yang won the first place for his outstanding performance at the Dimitris Mitropoulos International Competition for Orchestral Conducting in Greece. It’s the first time for the Chinese conductors to have such honor.

As one of the most active young conductors in China, Yang has maintained close partnership with all mainstream orchestras and opera houses domestically. Meanwhile, he has successfully left tracks at a host of foreign orchestras such as Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, German Philharmonic Orchestra of Cologne, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, National Rhine Philharmonic Orchestra, New Brandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Italian Verona Opera House, Teatro Regio Torino, Italian Rome Philharmonic Orchestra, French Cannes Symphony Orchestra, Bordeaux Symphony Orchestra, Valencia Orchestra of Spain, Greek Symphony Orchestra, Athenian Chamber Orchestra and Korean Incheon Philharmonic, etc. 

He had sincere cooperation with world famous musicians such as cellists Lynn Harrell, Alban Gerhard, Wang Jian, Natalia Gutman, violinists Maxim Vengerov, Gidon Kremer, Midori, Sarah Chang, Augustin Dumay, Lenard Karpison, Cho-Liang Lin, pianists Gary Graffman, Lang Lang, Barry Douglas, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Kun-Woo Paik, Jon Kimura Parker, soprano Sumi Jo, clarinetists Sabine Meyer, Wenzel Fuchs, French horn players Radovan Vlatkovic, Stefan Dohr, etc. Yang had also cooperated with all Chinese distinguished musicians. 

Recommended by maestro Long Yu, Yang started his conducting career in the year of 1998, at the First Beijing International Music Festival (BMF). Since then, he conducted operas and concerts at BMF eight years consecutively. From 2000 to 2016, Yang Yang held the position as the Assistant Conductor and Resident Conductor of China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO). In 2006, Yang Yang attended an advanced training course hosted by maestro Myung-whun Chung in Korea. In 2009, he has presided over the founding of Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO).

From his conducting career to 2016, when he was appointed as Music Director and Chief Conductor of China National Opera House, Yang had conducted China Philharmonic Orchestra, China National Opera House and Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra and successfully demonstrated many of the great operas, such as Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Turandot, Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Carmen, as well as many Chinese opera’s debut in China including Night Banquet, Wolf Cub Village, Songs Of The Long March, The Red Detachment of Women and Manas. Yang toured with China National Opera House to Swiss and Italy for Giacomo Puccini Opera Festival with Turandot, Madama Butterfly and Songs Of The Long March successfully, which drew broad attention internationally and showed his outstanding talents in opera conducting. 

Yang Yang is now acting as Music Director and Chief Conductor of China National Opera House, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of Hangzhou International Music Festival, Artistic Director of CCOM Children Symphony Orchestra.