Download The Munich Chamber Orchestra

Performance information
Munich Chamber Orchestra Concert (Jian LI, the guest pianist)
Performance date: 7.30pm. 8th November, 2014
Performance venue：Sennheiser Shanghai Music Hall
Ticket price：¥80 ¥180 ¥280 ¥380 ¥480 ¥580
The Munich Chamber Orchestra
The underlying philosophy of this orchestra's unique concert programmes can be summed up as
"tradition and innovation”. With both classical and contemporary works, often in world premières,
the MUNICH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA manages time and again to strike an exciting balance between
a concern for tradition and a staunch commitment to New Music.
Founded by Christoph Stepp in 1950, the MUNICH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA was taken over in 1956
by Hans Stadlmair, who directed the ensemble until well into the 1990s, leaving behind him a
lasting imprint. In 1995 the artistic direction was passed on to Christoph Poppen, who quickly
gave the orchestra a unique new profile. Alexander Liebreich became artistic director and chief
conductor of the MKO in October 2006.
In the 2003/04 season the orchestra launched a new series of concerts in Munich's museum of
modern art, the "Pinakothek der Moderne". Three times each year a "Modern Nocturne" devoted
to the music of a single contemporary composer is held beneath the gallery's rotunda. The series
has become a popular feature in Munich's musical landscape. Three new concert formats were
initiated by Alexander Liebreich to great acclaim: the Munich AIDS-concert, the ›carte blanche‹,
granted to distinguished personalities from the cultural sector and the "concert sauvage", where
neither the programme nor the soloists are announced beforehand.
Another new emphasis in the orchestra's activities is "Project Munich", an initiative of various
concerts, workshops and other activities that aim to further the MKO's ties to the city of Munich as
its home-base by working with children, adolescents and social institutions. One of the first
collaborations within this framework was a project involving Down-syndrome children during a
children's concert in the fall of 2006, which was documented by the Bavarian Television in a
prize-winning documentary.
Li Jian was born into a musical family in Shanghai, China, Li Jian began his music studies at the
age of six and studied with Prof. Hong Teng at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. At 16, Li
Jian was the youngest competitor and Second Grand Prize Winner in the Marguerite LongJacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris-an honour which let the French
Government and the Samson François Foundation inviting him to study at the Conservatoire
Nationale de Paris. Then The Curtis Institute of Music, with the legendary Mieczyslaw Horszowski,
and studied conducting with Prof. Jorma Panula. He was also the youngest musician chosen by
the Chinese government to perform at the national reception honoring U.S. President Jimmy
Carter on his historic visit to China. In 1989, he became the first Mainland Chinese musician to be
invited to perform in Taiwan. His visit ushered in a new era of cultural and political relationships
across the Taiwan Strait.
In addition to his active performing, recording and conducting schedule, Li Jian has served on the
faculty of the renowned Curtis Institute of Music from 1995 to 2001, and gives master classes
throughout the United States and Asia regularly. He is also honorary professor of the Nanjing
University. Since 2004, he has also been Artistic Director of the Musicians Emergency Fund of
New York. Li Jian is currently serving as professor and head of the Piano Department at the
Shanghai Conservatory of Music.