Nai-Yuan Hu 胡乃元 , Violinist
Since winning the First Prize of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Competition in 1985, violinist Nai-Yuan Hu has appeared on many of the world’s stages, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Avery Fisher Hall in New York and major venues in London, Paris, Brussels, Munich, and other cities in Europe, North and South Americas and Asia. In praise of his playing, BBC Music Magazine wrote, “Taiwanese violinist Nai-Yuan Hu is an awesomely capable performer whose technical facility, musical intelligence and unfaltering verve place him among the higher echelons of today’s string virtuosi.”
Mr. Hu’s solo engagements include appearances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, Toronto Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Netherland and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras, Belgian National Orchestra, Liège Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lille in France, Haifa Symphony, Austro-Hungarian Haydn Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Taiwan’s NSO & NTSO, China and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras and others. He has collaborated with such conductors as George Cleve, Adam Fischer, Leon Fleisher, Gunther Herbig, Jahja Ling, Shao-Chia Lu, Gerard Schwarz, Maxim Shostakovich, and Hubert Soudant, among others.
As a recitalist, Mr. Hu performed in such venues as Alice Tully Hall and Weill Recital Hall in New York, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Purcell Room in London, Casals Hall in Tokyo, and Jordan Hall in Boston where he premiered Bright Sheng’s “The Stream Flows” in 1990. In summer seasons, he has appeared either as a guest soloist or chamber music artist in such festivals as Mostly Mozart, Marlboro, OK Mozart, Seattle, Grand Teton, and Newport. In 1999, he collaborated with Fou Ts’ong, Martha Argerich and Misha Maisky in the Beijing Music Festival.
Mr. Hu is the Music Director of Taiwan Connection, a music festival he founded in his native homeland in 2004 to promote chamber music. A conductorless string orchestra consisting of young talented Taiwanese musicians was incorporated into the Festival in 2007. Two years later, with the addition of a full complement of winds, TC Chamber Orchestra was formed. In 2010, the TC musicians tackled Beethoven Eroica Symphony to critical acclaims.
Mr. Hu’s recording of Goldmark’s Concerto and Bruch’s Concerto No. 2 with Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony (Delos) garnered “Critics’ Choice” from Gramophone as well as praises from many publications including BBC Music Magazine, The Times of London, and The Washington Post. His solo violin album “Unaccompanied…” for EMI label received two Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan for best classical album and best instrumentalist. In 2003, he released “Vienna Revisted” which comprises many of the beloved violin pieces from a bygone era.
Mr. Hu has served on the jury of international competitions such as Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and Seoul Violin Competition. Born in Taiwan, he began studying the violin at age five and was soloist with the National Youth Orchestra of Taiwan three years later. He came to the United States in 1972 to continue his studies, first with Broadus Erle and later with Joseph Silverstein and Josef Gingold.(Information source: http://www.chambermusicinternational.org)
胡乃元1961年出生於台南，五歲開始學習小提 琴，三年後便與臺灣青少年管絃樂團合作並擔任獨奏。在臺灣時，曾先後向蘇德潛、李淑德、柯尼希與陳秋盛習琴。1972年赴美深造，曾師事於鄂爾 （Brodadus Erle）、斯維史坦(Joseph Silverstein)和金格(Josef Gingold)等名師。
曾受邀與許多知名樂團一起演出，如倫敦皇家愛樂交響樂團、多倫多交響樂團、西雅圖交響樂團、荷蘭羅特丹愛樂交響樂團、比利時Liège愛樂、法國 Lille國家交響樂團、海法（Haifa）交響樂團、奧匈海頓室內樂團、東京愛樂、東京大都會交響樂團、台灣國家交響樂團、台北市交與香港愛樂。隨比利 時國際樂團至慕尼黑、漢諾威及多特蒙等德國城市演奏，也在阿姆斯特丹大會堂、紐約林肯中心、卡內基廳、巴黎聯合國文教組織等地登台獨奏，其足跡所到之處尚 包括洛杉磯、舊金山、布魯塞爾、伯根及海牙等歐美大城。
在台灣，胡乃元教授曾應邀參加總統府音樂會和國家音樂廳開幕音樂會之演出，並應奇美基金會之邀，以該基金會所收藏之名琴錄製了一系列的經典名曲 (資料來源: http://hc.ntua.edu.tw)
