"Some believe conductors are born, not made. Linhan Cui is human embodiment of that idea.."--Andrew Mellor

CUI Linhan currently holds the position of Principal Conductor of Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in China, Artistic Director of the Toronto Artists Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Palermo Classica Festival in Italy. Recognized as one of the most promising young conductors of her generation, she has earned widespread acclaim on the international stage for a conducting style defined by natural, full-bodied expressiveness.

Linhan made her conducting debut with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in 2023 and collaborated with the Greater Bay Area Festival Orchestra (comprising musicians from the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Macao Orchestra, and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra) for the opening concert of Youth Music Culture The Greater Bay Area 2024. In the same year, she was appointed Principal Conductor of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has led the orchestra in a series of major concerts, performing signature works by Ravel, Mendelssohn, Paganini, Prokofiev, and Mozart in collaboration with Maxim Vengerov, Simon Zhu, and Hyunyoung Lee. She also conducted the Guangzhou premiere of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 in A major, becoming the first 1990s-born Chinese female conductor to lead a performance of a Bruckner symphony. Additionally, she conducted the orchestra in a performance of Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Gil Shaham.

As a guest conductor, Linhan has also ignited enthusiasm among audiences around the world. Her recent and upcoming engagements include debuts with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the China Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra in its subscription concerts. She has also collaborated with numerous internationally renowned ensembles, such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Korean Symphony Orchestra, the Pasadena Symphony, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Her past collaborators include celebrated artists such as Maxim Vengerov, Julian Rachlin, Plácido Domingo and others.

During the 2019-2020 season, Linhan was appointed Conducting Fellow by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra where she had the privilege of serving as Marin Alsop’s cover conductor. In the 2022-2023 season, she was named a Dudamel Fellow, serving as a cover conductor and conducting concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic—an experience that laid a solid foundation for her international career. In 2021, her exceptional talent and artistic promise were recognized with a second prize at the Malko International Conducting Competition and third prize in the Korean Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition.

Linhan was born in Shenyang, China, and began her piano study at the age of four. She started conducting at age eighteen when she was the only accepted student at the Xinghai Conservatory, China, studying with Ming Liu. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies in orchestral conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, under the guidance of Arthur Fagen. She also holds a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Marin Alsop.

Stradivari Quartet was founded in 2007 and is led by the Chinese violinist WANG Xiaoming. The prestigious Gramophone magazine once described them as “a quartet worthy of their illustrious name, with the most beautiful tone, pure sound quality, and remarkable ensemble cohesion.” The Stradivari Quartet is truly a renowned chamber ensemble that lives up to its reputation.

Composed of four passionate musicians, the quartet is celebrated not only for its outstanding technical mastery but also for its deep musical insight and interpretation. Their performances bring out the individual character and uniqueness of each instrument, redefining the essence of “Stradivari”. In the world of classical music, Stradivari instruments are not merely priceless antiques; they are living pieces of history that shine brightest on stage. From the hands of the master luthier, these instruments have traveled through centuries, passed through different musicians and collectors, and now, in the hands of these accomplished artists, the legendary Stradivari sound resonates with new vitality.

The Stradivari Quartet has performed across the globe, gracing some of the most prestigious concert halls, including: Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Tonhalle Zurich, London's Wigmore Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musikverein, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cremona Violin Museum Concert Hall, China NCPA, Shanghai Concert Hall, Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall, Singapore’s Victoria Concert Hall. The quartet has also been invited to perform at major international music festivals, including: Lucerne Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Rheingau Music Festival, Rubinstein Festival, Macau International Music Festival.

In recent years, the Stradivari Quartet has released several critically acclaimed albums. Sony Classical Records released their albums of Complete Schubert String Quartets, Schumann String Quartets, and Mozart Prussian Quartets. In 2021, Naxos Records released the first album in their “Stradivari Quartett inConcert” series, featuring the Quartet’s live performance at Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall with Webern’s Langsamer Satz and Mendelssohn String Quartet in A Minor. The second album in their inConcert series, “Songs of Yearning”, was released in 2024, captureing their Zurich concert programme, including Dvořák String Quartet No.12 in F Major, five pieces from Cypresses, B.152, and the world premiere recording of David Philip Hefti’s String Quartet No.8 “Songs of Yearning”.

One of the quartet’s most distinguished projects is the highly anticipated “Stradivari FEST”, which presents dozens of concerts each season worldwide, allowing for close interaction with audiences. The quartet’s extensive repertoire includes comprehensive performances of full collections by iconic composers, such as: Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Haydn, Dvořák and Mendelssohn. This in-depth exploration of composers and their works gives their performances an extraordinary artistic depth and unique interpretative perspective.

During 2024/25 season, the Stradivari Quartet presented nearly forty works by Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. Highlight performances included: Debut at Beijing Arts Centre in December 2024 with Haydn and Dvořák’s String Quartets; collaboration with musicians from China NCPA Orchestra performing Mendelssohn Octet and Beethoven Septet; their first collaboration with pianist LI Jian at Spaceless Shanghai; the complete Haydn String Quartets in March 2025 at Vienna Musikverein and Haydn’s long-served Esterházy Palace in Austria - a profound musical homage transcending time and space. For 2025/26 season, the Stradivari Quartet will launch their Shostakovich season project, commencing from Tonhalle Zurich.

With an outstanding international reputation, the Stradivari Quartet frequently receives coverage in prestigious global media outlets. Their performances have been praised as “capturing the spirit of antique instruments, bringing historical craftsmanship to life through their artistry”. As a leading ensemble in the world of chamber music, the Stradivari Quartet continues to redefine the boundaries of excellence, passion, and tradition.

China NCPA Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Beijing. Since its founding in 2010, the orchestra has fast established itself as one of the most adventurous and dynamic orchestras in the country and earned an international reputation through extensive performances abroad.

Numerous world-renowned artists have collaborated with the orchestra, including Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, Myung-Whun Chung, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniele Gatti, Fabio Luisi, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Leif Segerstam, Gunter Herbig, Shao-Chia Lu, ZHANG Xian, Rudolf Buchbinder, Stephen Kovacevich, Khatia Buniatishvili, Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, ZHANG Haochen, Víkingur Ólafsson, Kyung-Wha Chung, Vadim Repin, Siqing Lu, NING Feng, WANG Jian, Gautier Capucon, Alison Balsom, Sabine Meyer, Placido Domingo, Leo Nucci, Renee Fleming among many others. Lorin Maazel worked closely with the orchestra before his passing and praised the musicians for their “amazing professionalism and great passion in music”. Christoph Eschenbach also declared it as “one of the finest orchestras in Asia”.

Over the years, the orchestra has gained critical acclaim for its artistic excellence in both concerts and operas. To date they have played in over 70 NCPA opera productions, including classical repertoires such as Das Rheingold, Tristan and Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Aida, Otello, Nabucco, Tosca, Turandot, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, and newly commissioned works Rickshaw Boy, The Long March, Fang Zhimin, The Jinsha River, Visitors on the Snow Mountain and The Dawns Here Are Quiet. Their live recording of The Ring without Words with its creator, Lorin Maazel, was released on SONY Music worldwide, the only recording the great maestro ever made with an orchestra from China. In 2019, the orchestra’s recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 was awarded "Best Orchestral Album" at the 2018 Chinese Audiophile Vinyl Award. In 2021, the NCPAO released Beethoven’s Egmont becoming the first Chinese orchestra to record this masterpiece. In celebration of the decade tenure of its Music Director LÜ Jia, the orchestra released a selection of live recordings conducted by LÜ Jia in 2022. 2024 sees the NCPAO release the recordings of Bruckner’s complete numbered symphonies.

The orchestra has consistently offered creative and diverse programmes through its concert season. As part of its continuous efforts to promote contemporary music, the orchestra presented the China Premieres of major works by John Adams, Toru Takemitsu et al. and gave the World Premieres of dozens of substantial new orchestral works commissioned from composers across the globe, including Qigang Chen, ZHAO Jiping, Michael Gordon, Kalevi Aho, HUANG Ruo, Bright Sheng, Bernd Richard Deutch, et al. It has also played a significant role in the NCPA's Young Composers Programme, providing a unique platform nurturing the next generation of composers in China.

Alongside its concert series, the orchestra has received widespread praise for its international appearances at the Kissingen Summer Music Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and concerts in many cities in Germany, as well as cities in Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Daegu, Abu Dhabi, Taipei and Macao. In 2014, the orchestra undertook its first North American tour and returned in 2017, where it performed at Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Center, Davies Symphony Hall and other major venues in the US and Canada, under the baton of LÜ Jia. Musical America praised its “joyful confidence and youthful strength”. Concerto Net described it as “a polished, first rate ensemble”. In 2021, they appeared in "See Me: A Global Concert" along with world-wide artists, orchestras and choirs as part of the Opening Ceremony of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda virtual event. In 2022, the orchestra recorded for the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, accompanying billions of viewers to witness the lighting of the Olympic flame. In April 2023, musicians from the orchestra visited South America performing joint concerts with Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra in Brazil and Instituto Superior de Arte de Teatro Colon in Argentina.

In 2025, the orchestra, led by Myung-Whun Chung, completed its first multi-country European tour, performing at the Edinburgh International Festival, Santander International Festival, and Elbphilharmonie, receiving“immediate and unanimous (ovation)” (Bachtrack), and was hailed by the Hamburger Abendblatt as "cleanly and richly sonorous...The ambition of this orchestra was unmistakably great".

With its commitment to educational and outreach activities, the orchestra has presented a series of Weekend Matinee Concerts at its home venue, providing local audience specially selected programmes and accessible ticket prices. The orchestra also frequently initiates wide-reaching educational projects in association with educational institutions across the city. In 2020, the orchestra launched an online concert series drawing an average audience of 30 million viewers. In 2024, the Beijing Youth Orchestra, operated by the NCPAO, participated in World Orchestra Week and made its international debut at Carnegie Hall. April 2021 saw the orchestra complete their first six-city national tour, which Music Weekly praised as "a series of sophisticated programs in concerts that blew the roof off,” followed by two national tours in March 2023 and March 2025.

In February 2012, LÜ Jia took up the post of Chief Conductor, succeeding CHEN Zuohuang, NCPA’s then Artistic Director of Music as well as a founder of the orchestra. In January 2017, LÜ Jia started serving as NCPA's Artistic Director of Music and the NCPA Orchestra's Music Director. Beginning in the 2025/26 season, ZHANG Xian assumes the role of Principal Guest Conductor. In 2025, LAI Jiajing was appointed as Resident Conductor.