THE CLASSICAL MUSIC MARKET IN CHINA

Vincent Agrech is a journalist and producer. He has been a signature of Diapason magazine for nearly twenty-five years, and is also the author of an essay on El Sistema, Un orchestre pour changer le monde (published by Stock), and a collection of interviews with Philippe Jarousky, Seule compte la musique (Premières Loges). At the same time, he was Head of the music department of the Institut Français, delegate-general of Le Poème Harmonique, theatrical producer of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and is now in charge of international relations at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre.

Loïc Ah-Son began working at the Musée Guimet as a Project Manager for artistic programming, where he broadened the remit accorded to cinema, dance, literature and music, and by so doing, decompartmentalized the performance spaces. In 2019, he started working as a cultural consultant for Asia. Indeed, as a Sinophone, he has been travelling regularly to China since his year spent at Peking University in 2013. Loïc holds a bachelor's degree in Comparative Social Sciences Europe-Asia and a master's degree in Public Affairs, specializing in culture, from Sciences Po, an ivy league French school.

Wray Armstrong worked 12 years at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in his native Canada, and 18 years with ICM Artists and IMG Artists, before establishing his own firm based in London, Hong Kong, Beijing and Rome, in 2009. The firm’s activities have ranged from creating projects, tours and residencies for orchestras and opera, to artist management, festival consulting, and establishing international exchange programs between China and Europe. Recently, Armstrong Music and Arts created a joint venture company with Poly Theatre Management Group, the largest promoter and theatre operator in China, and has an increased range of activities from orchestra, opera and dance touring, to musical production and exhibition touring.

Laurent Bayle was assistant director of the Théâtre de l’Est lyonnais, then managing director of the Atelier lyrique du Rhin. In 1982, he created the Strasbourg Musica Festival, of which he was general manager until 1986 and became president in 2017. He was named artistic director of Ircam in 1987 and its general manager in 1992. In 2001 he became managing director of the Cité de la musique and in 2010 launched the Démos children’s orchestras. Named general director of the Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris in 2016, in 2018 he was given by the ministry of culture and communication and the mayor of Paris the mission of integrating the Orchestre de Paris into the Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris.

Born in Quebec City, Sylvie Bouchard began her career as Director of International Relations for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. In 2001, she was hired by KAJIMOTO, one of the most important concert organizers and representatives of musicians and orchestras in Japan, where she worked firstly as Director, then Executive vice-president. Together with Masa Kajimoto, they decided to open an office in Paris, making KAJIMOTO the first Japanese agency to establish itself abroad. In 2005, Sylvie Bouchard participated in the creation of another office in Shanghai, then in Beijing in 2011. Under her leadership, KAJIMOTO is committed to designing innovative artistic projects and developing strong links with other organizers in Asia and Europe.

Anne-Sophie Brandalise's career spans experiences in regional governmental organizations and cultural institutions. After graduating in political sciences and philosophy, she was Director of Audiences and Development, then Assistant Managing Director at the Opéra National de Bordeaux for ten years. Since June 2018, she has been Managing Director of the Orchestre de Paris and has operated the integration of the Orchestre de Paris into the Philharmonie de Paris. She is also Treasurer of the Biarritz National Ballet's endowment fund. She is a regular lecturer at the Sciences Po Bordeaux cultural master’s degree and Prep’ENA (preparatory class for the ENA exam).

Camille Chabanon has been in the administration side of the performing arts for many years now, where she works for artists and their projects, defending their freedom of creation, their desire to transmit and their influence in France and abroad. She has had the opportunity to work with artists and professionals who are sensitive to intercultural collaborations, all of which has seen her visit China on several occasions. These encounters and collaborations with other cultures have allowed her to learn from different experiences and shared reflections on the cultural sector in the world.

Qigang Chen is one of the living composers much performed around the world, winning him many accolades. In 2001, his orchestral work Wu Xing was selected as one of the five finalists of the Masterprize Award. In 2003, EMI/Virgin Classics released an album devoted to his music, voted by Gramophone Magazine as one of the top ten classical recordings of the month. In 2005, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la Musique Symphonique by SACEM. In 2013, he was decorated with Chevalier de l'Ordre des arts et des lettres by the french government. Chen acted as the music director of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In 2015, he launched a composition workshop at Gonggeng College in China, for dialogues with, and between, young musicians.

Currently responsible for classical music at the Centre national de la musique, she was Director of classical and jazz at the Bureau Export, in charge of promoting the French music industry worldwide. She has also worked for the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Aix-en-Provence International Festival, the Théâtre de l'Odéon, IMG Artists as well as for Les Arts Florissants and the North Carolina School of the Arts International Orchestra. In 2006 she launched and directed the Valloires Festival in France and the All about Piano! festival in London. Appointed Head of Classical Music at the French Embassy in London, she has launched several programmes, including the Franco-British Contemporary Music Fund Diaphonique.

Stemming from two cultures, French and Haitian, Célimène Daudet is a soloist whose playing and artistic commitment have received public and press plaudits. She performs on different continents: Carnegie Hall in New York, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Philharmonie in Paris, Shanghai Oriental Art Center etc., and in festivals such as La Roque d'Anthéron, La Folle journée de Nantes, Festival de Pâques d'Aix etc. She has been awarded the International Pro Musicis Prize, the Spedidam Generation Artist Prize and the Senate Medal. She has been a Young Leader since 2018, and is the initiator of the Haiti Piano Project.

Christian de Portzamparc is the first French architect to win the Pritzker Prize. He is the architect of La Cité de la Musique in La Villette (1995), the LVMH Tower in New York (1999) and the Opera House in Shanghai (2020), amongst other major projects. He places great importance on the interaction between urban space and human beings. Through his theory of the open block, which he put into practice in the Masséna district of Paris, he renewed the vision of urban structure. The concept is now used in many urban development projects.

Pianist, conductor, teacher, with a vast cultural knowledge and a tireless curiosity, Jean-François Heisser is the heir of Vlado Perlemuter, Henriette Puig-Roget and Maria Curcio. He taught piano from 1991 to 2016 at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. He currently performs both as a soloist under the baton of renown conductors and as a chamber musician. Since 2001, he has been musical director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Jean-François Heisser is artistic director of the Soirées Musicales d'Arles, artistic advisor of the Festival de l'Orangerie de Sceaux and president (co-artistic director) of the Ravel Festival & Academy.

Head of the Concerts and Performances Department at the Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris, every year he organizes a series of 500 concerts in this complex of 5 concert halls. A Doctor of Musicology and graduate of the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Danse de Paris (history of music, esthetics, music education and musicology), he conducted research on the history of the decentralisation of teaching and cultural policies in 19th-century France. He has published many articles and books, including Le Conservatoire de Paris - Regards sur une institution et son histoire (1995), La Marseillaise (2002), François Devienne (2004) and 100 Pieces of Advice to a Young Musician (2019).

François Jullien holds the Chair of Alterity at the Collège d'études mondiales. He is one of the most important figures in contemporary French philosophy. The writings of François Jullien are at the crossroads of sinology and general philosophy. Based on an exploration of ancient Chinese thought, neo-Confucianism and the literary and aesthetic conceptions of classical China, his work probes the history and categories of European reason by establishing a gateway between cultures. By making a diversion via China, François Jullien's work has opened up fruitful and demanding avenues for thinking about interculturality. His work has been translated and published in twenty-eight countries.

Robert Lacombe has been Inspector General of Cultural Affairs since 2019, after having held various positions in the cultural sector, both nationally and internationally. In France, he was Artistic Director of the festival Le Marathon des Mots in Toulouse, General Director of the festivals Terres de Paroles and Automne en Normandie in Rouen, and independent cultural consultant. Abroad, he worked as Cooperation Attaché in Vietnam, Deputy Director of the French Institute in Budapest, and Director of the French Institute in Tokyo. From 2015 to 2019, he was Cultural Advisor to the French Embassy in Beijing. He developed the multidisciplinary festival Croisements, and was responsible for artistic and cultural cooperation between France and China.

Hongming Lin is the director of the operational and preparatory group at the Grand Opera in Shanghai. He is a CPC deputy of the 14th People's Assembly of Shanghai Municipality. For the past 30 years, he has held various positions in China's cultural administration, including General Manager of Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre, Permanent Deputy Manager of the Grand Theatre in Shanghai, and the first General Manager of the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre.

A graduate in Italian language and literature from the University of Paris-Dauphine, she soon specialized in the management of cultural organizations. She began in cultural diplomacy in Italy before holding a number of positions with musical structures in France. She is currently the General Delegate of Ensemble Correspondances, a baroque music ensemble. She is Vice-president of the Profedim union (producers, festivals and independent music ensembles) and, as such, sits on the Professional Council of the Centre national de la musique. She is co-founder of ARVIVA - Arts vivants, Arts durables. She contributes to various cultural magazines, including La Revue du Crieur, Architectures CREE, etc.

After studying at Sciences Po Paris and at the University of Sussex, Aline Sam-Giao turned toward the world of music. She worked at the Fondation Royaumont, with the baroque ensemble Le Poème Harmonique, at the Festival Berlioz, and then as managing director of the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie. Since 2017, she has been the Managing Director of the Auditorium - Orchestre National de Lyon. At the same time, she is vice president of the Association française des orchestres and of Les Forces musicales. She is also a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Conductor David Stern is founder and artistic director of the Opera Fuoco company, artistic director of the Shanghai Baroque Festival and chief conductor of the Palm Beach Opera. He is known for his energetic interpretation of Puccini and Strauss. He has championed recreations of J.C. Bach, Telemann and Mayr. He works with up and coming singers, either with Opera Fuoco, conservatories such as Juilliard and Curtis, or the Palm Beach Opera. He is co-chair of the Shanghai Isaac Stern Violin Competition Jury.

Rudolph Tang (唐若甫) is a Musical America journalist and researcher based in Shanghai, member of the Society for musical criticism of China. He has covered topics on classical music and opera since 2000. His articles can be read on the leading journals as das Orchester, The Podium, Auditorium, FT Chinese, China Daily, GQ, Noblesse, Tatler, Slipped Disc, and Music Weekly. He was Head of communications of the China symphony development foundation as well as the Alliance of Asia-Pacific region Orchestras from 2008-2013.

A graduate of the Ecole Centrale Paris, Enrique Thérain founded the orchestra Les Siècles with François-Xavier Roth in 2004. Since then, he has held the position of General Delegate. At the same time, he created the festival Les Musicales de Normandie, which runs 30 concerts each summer in heritage sites. In 2015, he became Administrator of AIDA 38, a public institution for cultural cooperation, which, among other events, runs the Berlioz Festival. He is also the Artistic Director of several festivals. Since 2020, he has been the General Delegate of the Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing. He is Treasurer of the Fédération des ensembles vocaux et instrumentaux spécialisés (FEVIS) and a member of the board of the Profedim union.

Jean-Philippe Thiellay is the president of the National Center for Music, a new public body created in January 2020 to sustain the music industry in France. He was lately deputy general manager of the Paris national Opera since 2014. He was before that member of the Conseil d’Etat (supreme court of the administrative justice). Jean-Philippe Thiellay served in ministerial political staffs and as a diplomat. He is vice-president of Terra Nova, one of the most influent political think tanks in France. He taught public law in a french university and published several legal treatises and articles. He published biographical essays on Bellini (2013), Meyerbeer (2018) and Rossini (2019).

Luli WANG joined NCPA in 2007 before its official opening. She is now the Deputy Director of the Programming Department, leading a eight-person team in charge of the music projects. In the last 14 years, she was also in charge of dance and drama projects. She focuses on world top orchestras’ touring projects, chamber music concerts, special events and music festivals at the NCPA: May Festival for chamber music, Roaming about Classics and Chorus Festival among others. NCPA presents over 800 commercial performances each year: 230 concerts taking place in the Concert Hall and around 70 concerts taking place in the Chamber Music Hall.

Sebastian is currently an independent curator specialized in chinese classical music scene, he is also the artistic planner for Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s MISA festival and runs his own venue TRI, a 600 people capacity’s live house mostly for classical and independent music performance and live streaming. Previously Sebastian worked 6 years at the Shanghai oriental art center, first as project manager then head of artistic planning in the development of programming, promotion and marketing for projects. He then spent one year at Google Shanghai, developing their online music before the company closes in 2010. From 2012 to 2019 Sebastian was the director of artistic planning for Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

Deqing Wen is a chinese swiss composer. He created Shanghai New Music Week in 2008 and is the director of Hangzhou International Contemporary Music Festival and Zhejiang Qing Long Village Music Festival. He teaches composition at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He is also a member of the SUISA, Swiss music copyright, and vice-chairman of the China-Asean musicians union. Concerts and master classes have been dedicated to his compositions in many countries. His works are published by Swiss Musical Edition, Bärenreiter-Verlag, Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press, Beijing People’s Music publishing house. His albums are released by Stradivarius Records, Grammont Portrait Contemporary SWISS, Naxos Records, etc.

XU Zhong is currently president of Shanghai Opera House, principal director of Fondazione Arena di Verona, chief conductor of Suzhou Symphony Orchestra and dean of Soochow University School of Music. Between 2012 and 2015, he was artistic director and chief conductor of Teatro Massimo Bellini. Between 2013 and 2019, he was music director and chief conductor of Israel Haifa Symphony Orchestra. He is awarded as the Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Xu Zhong has won numerous prestigious international piano competitions. As a conductor, he has actively worked with many prestigious orchestras.

Cong Yan is a professor at the Department of Arts Administration of Shanghai Conservatory of Music and also responsible for the master's degree run there. He is a member of the strategic team of the Training and Practice of Innovative Talents in Opera and Performing Arts in Shanghai and Secretary General of the Alliance for Urban Theatre Development in China. He is also a member of the Permanent Council of the Chinese Society for the Teaching of Arts Administration.

Born in Beijing, he worked for Mitsui & Co. Ltd., IBM China Ltd. In 1999, he founded Ruge Artists Management, a leading agency in China. In 2007 and 2008, he was the executive director of international liaison of Beijing Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies. He was also the music production manager of Zhang Yimou's films: Under the Hawthorn Tree, Flowers of War and Coming Home. In 2014 to 2017, he became the managing director of Standard Artists Management Co. Ltd. He writes for magazines : Philharmonic, Gramophone China Edition, Opera, etc. He hosts live broadcasts: Classical Also Popular on Beijing Music Radio, and Musical Life on CCTV Music Channel. He gives lectures in different institutions such as NCPA in Beijing etc.

Born in ShenYang in China, Yupeng Zhao started playing the violin at the age of 5. He was remarked by the renowned violinist Augustin Dumay and, with the support of the French ambassador to China, moved to France. After graduating from the CNSM in Paris and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, he joined the Diotima Quartet in 2005 as concertmaster with which he performed in more than 40 countries and in the leading concert halls all over the world: the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Wigmor Hall and the Southbank Centre in London, the Paris Philharmonic, and the Forbidden City Hall in Beijing are regular and privileged partners. In 2013 he became one of the youngest Fellows in the history of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. Today he is one of the most active musicians of Chinese origin in Europe.

ed the Beijing Music Festival in 2016 and initiated a new-wave program to attract younger audiences and international artists. She worked with leading artists and production companies from Western Europe to experiment new forms of opera/music theatre. The festival also collaborated with Opéra Comique Paris and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra residency program.  Her own directorial works include Songs of Nature for the opening of the Klara Festival 2021, Site-specific Opera Orfeo, Happy Days and Blithe Spirit. She wrote Nine Coloured Deerand The wonderful adventures of Nils, which won the Golden Lion Theatre award in China.