[2] Hu Kun was born in China just before the Cultural Revolution and started playing violin and piano at age of six with his parents.
He moved to Beijing in the 1970s to be the soloist of the China Central Radio Symphony Orchestra, and in 1980 he won the fifth prize of the Sibelius International Violin Competition, being the first Chinese citizen to win a prize at a major international violin competition.
In 2002 he gave the premiere of Tan Dun’s violin concerto with the Dresden Philharmonic[2] and was featured in a documentary film, produced by Phoenix CNE Europe.
[3] Kun studied conducting with Sir Colin Davis and started this portion of his career by making a last minute substitution in 1985.
[5] He is also a professor of violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London.