Han-Na Chang
Han-Na Chang
Han-Na Chang

Han-Na Chang

Conductor
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“…confident, astute, inspired. Ms Chang is the epitome of the incredible lightness of being: agile, nimble and bang on the beat.”

(The Liverpool Echo)

Chief Conductor & Artistic Leader: Trondheim Symfoniorkester

Han-Na Chang is the Artistic Leader and Chief Conductor of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester in Norway. Having concluded a hugely successful inaugural season with monumental performances of Beethoven Symphony No.3 Eroica and Mahler Symphony No.7, the 2018/19 season sees her continue her work expanding the Orchestra’s core repertoire. Mahler and Beethoven maintain an important part in her programming there (as well as in guest engagements this season with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony) alongside pillars of the 19th and 20th Century repertoire from Brahms, Dvořák, Bruckner, Strauss and Shostakovich. Other upcoming dates include the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre national de Lyon, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic in repertoire from Dvořák and Ravel to Gubaidulina and Sean Shepherd.

As a guest conductor, she has worked with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Bamberger Symphoniker, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cincinnati, St Louis, Indianapolis, Seattle, Gothenburg, Singapore and Tokyo Symphony orchestras, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli amongst others. Chang made an acclaimed conducting debut at the BBC Proms in September 2014, and held the post of Principal Guest Conductor of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester from the 2013/14 to the 2016/17 season

Han-Na Chang
Han-Na Chang

Her professional music career started at the age of 11, when she won the Rostropovich International Cello Competition in 1994. Chang went on to perform with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra, l’Orchestre de Paris, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Chicago, Boston and San Francisco symphony orchestras. Her recordings, exclusively for the former EMI Classics, have received ECHO Klassik, Caecilia and Cannes Classical awards, as well as a Gramophone Concerto of the Year accolade among others, and remain world-wide bestsellers.

Han-Na Chang studied Philosophy at Harvard University and currently serves as the Roving Goodwill Ambassador for the Korean Red Cross.

Gallery

Han-Na Chang
Han-Na Chang
Han-Na Chang
Han-Na Chang
Han-Na Chang
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Han-Na Chang- conducts Glinka's ouverture from Ruslan and Ludmila © oslophil
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Trondheim Symfoniorkester Announcement
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Han-Na Chang - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 (excerpt) © BBC Proms

“Chang conducts with drive and perfect balance between the different, rapidly changing, moods. It is controlled, professional and incessantly engaging.”

(Goteborgs-Posten, Carl Magnus Juliusson, March 2019)

“Chang, whose advance instructions are clear even to the average viewer, kept this work in high gear, giving it dramatic dynamics with close instructions to the musicians… she gave the pauses a wide horizon, upping their attention quotient. If it was a dream programme for the Masterworks series, it was also a dream performance of them.”

(Naples Daily News, February 2019)

“A finale to match the rest, the electricity was still crackling almost an hour into the piece. Chang clearly has a very strong picture of the movement, bringing out the important thematic statements, while getting the massive contrapuntal passages in the strings uttered with wonderful clarity. The tension built gradually to a climax matching the dignity & gravitas of the opening, every bit as noble.”

(Barczablog, October 2018)

“Chang is graceful, strong, charismatic and deeply musical, and she seemed to have total rapport with the musicians of the orchestra….Chang, conducting without a score, showed an impressive command of the material from the opening phrases to the dynamic finale, with a thrilling reading…. she kept firm and inspired control of the orchestra, and of the music’s direction, throughout the symphony. The audience rewarded the performers with a thunderous and well-deserved ovation. Chang’s a conductor on the way up.”

(St Louis Post-Dispatch, November 2016)

“The quite sensational interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony proved that she’s not any ordinary conductor… Here Chang once more brought across the story through brave transitions and brisk tempi…Brava, maestra!”

(Johanna Paulsson, Dagens Nyheter, April 2016)

“With the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, she found the spiritual depth of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. At 33-years-old, Han-Na Chang is simply one of this generation’s most exciting conductors. She shaped Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in a way that gave new insight into one of the most regularly performed orchestral works. She dared to make unexpected choices related to the form of the work, but everything still fitted in very clearly with the meticulously shaped whole.”

(Lars O. Flydal, Vårt Land, January 2016)

“Under guest conductor Han-Na Chang’s leadership on Friday morning, the orchestra’s performance was as fresh and exciting as one could wish for… it was intriguing to witness her gifts again… a rising star conductor…Chang has a clear and dynamic style on the podium. Leading ​‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ without a score, she vividly conveyed the mood and character of each painting, yet never lost the arc of the entire work… ​‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ was a stunning summation. Here, Chang did not push ahead, but held back the tempo, taking full advantage of the splendor of the brass in Music Hall’s magnificent space. Best of all, her leadership allowed orchestral soloists to shine.”

(Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Enquirer, February 2015)
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