Long Yu was born in Shanghai in 1964 into a family of musicians. He received his early music education from his grandfather the composer Ding Shande, and this prepared him for the rigorous formal music education he subsequently received first at the Shanghai Music Conservatory and then at the Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin. Mr. Yu s current position is attributable to talent and hard work as well as direct guidance from first-rate music educators and conductors in both China and Germany.

    Long Yu s professional experience and achievements in his native China cover both the artistic and the administrative. In 1992, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Central Opera Theatre in Beijing. In the same year, he was involved in organizing the inaugural Beijing New Year s Concert, now an annual event, and served as its conductor for three successive years. In 1998, he founded the Beijing Music Festival. As the BMF s Artistic Director, Mr. Yu s considerable administrative skills and artistic judgment have played a pivotal role in establishing the BMF both as China s premier classical music festival and as a significant annual world music event. Mr. Yu has earned widespread recognition for his role in helping to promote classical music and international artistic exchanges in China.

    In 2000, Long Yu co-founded the China Philharmonic Orchestra and was appointed its first Artistic Director and Principal Conductor.

    On December 16, 2000, Long Yu conducted the CPO s inaugural concert in Beijing. This concert was a great success. Of the works Mr. Yu has conducted since the founding of the CPO, Verdirsquo;s Requiem in February 2001, Berlioz s La Damnation de Faust in January 2002, Mahler s Das Lied von der Erde, and Du Mingxin s Symphonic Peking Opera Female Generals from Yang Family represent milestones in China s musical achievements. At the opening concert of the 5th Beijing Music Festival in October 2002, the CPO gave the PRC premiere of Mahler s Symphony No. 8 (rsquo;Symphony of a Thousandrsquo;). Among his conducting highlights during 2003-2004, Mr. Yu led a number of concerts and operas including the Mahler s Symphony No.2 (?°Resurrection??) and Bizet s Carmen with the CPO, his expansive and passionate conducting gave the music an intense appeal and received widely critical acclaim. In addition to a busy performance schedule in mainland China, the CPO has also appeared under Mr. Yu s baton in the Casals Festival and toured Taiwan, Cupatina, USA, Japan and Korea. All the CPO s overseas performances have been hailed as great successes.

    In May 2003, Long Yu was appointed the Music Director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (GSO). From September 2003 to the end of the year, he led both the China Philharmonic Orchestra and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra with Mischa Maisky as soloist for their European tours, giving concerts at the Palais Garnier, Champs Elysees Theatre, Teatr Wielki - National Opera Warsaw, Grosser Saal of the Musikverein, Vienna and Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. From September to October 2005, he led the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra with Augustin Dumay as soloist for GSO's American and Japan tours, giving concerts at the Carnegie Hall in New York, Boston Symphony Hall, John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Osaka Symphony Hall and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall.

    From February to April 2005, the China Philharmonic Orchestra took its world tour under the baton of Maestro. Long Yu. Within 40 days, the CPO appeared in 22 cities the United States, Canada, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, United Kingdom, and Germany. This is the first time a symphony orchestra gave performances in the two continents in China's history, even in Asia. The concerts in Lincoln Center in New York, Avery Fisher Hall, Barbican Hall and the Berlin Philharmonic Hall were high acclaimed as "a new era of Chinese Symphonic history" and "being the proud of Chinese people" by both the audience and the media, including the New York Times, the Times in London, and the Frankfuter Allgemeine Zeitung .

    Long Yu has made many recordings including, on Naxos, Korngold s Violin Concerto and Ding Shande s Long March Symphony with the Slovak Radio Orchestra. In November 2000, he recorded two CDs on Deutsche Grammophon with the China Philharmonic Orchestra, one of Wagner s Tannhauser Overture and the Sch?nberg orchestration of Brahms Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op. 25, the other of highlights of Chinese symphonic music.

    Long Yu received the 2002 Montblanc Arts Patronage Award from the Montblanc Cultural Foundation, and in 2003 came 'Le grade de chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres'; (The Honor of Chevalier of French Art and Culture) from the Government of France. In 2005, Long Yu was conferred on the "Commendatore Dell'ordine al Merito Della Republica Italiana," in recognition of his contributions to the promotion of cultural ties between China and Italy.