Prof. Xiaoming HAN(Germany)
Principal Horn, German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Akademie fur Musik Berlin

Xiaoming HAN was appointed principal horn of the China Central Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 17. In 1981, he studied with Richard Mackey (member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra) of the New England Conservatory on a full scholarship. And in 1984, he went to Europe to further his studies with Prof. Ifor James at the Freiburg University of Music, and with Prof. Otto Schmitz at the Munich University of Music where he obtained his Master of Arts degree in 1986.

At age 22, HAN was appointed principal horn of the Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra and later that year principal horn of the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, with Artistic Director maestro Myung-whun Chung. 

HAN has continued his career with the German Radio Philharmonic up to the present time. He has been invited as guest principal with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestras, the Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and Düsseldorf Opera House Orchestras as well as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

HAN has performed with many celebrated conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Mariss Jansons and Christoph Eschenbach. He has been invited to various music festivals, and in the Marlboro Music Festival where he performed chamber music together with Midori Goto, Mitsuko Uchida, Hilary Hahn and many others.

At age of 30, HAN has been full-time professor at the University of Music Saarland (1993-2011). Next to invitations for Master Classes in Europe, the USA, Australia, Japan, and Singapore, he has also been invited as a regular guest professor at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

HAN held the position of Artistic Director of the annual Music Festival of the CCOM (2004-2010), and organized the first Chamber Music Festival in the world’s largest concert hall, namely the China National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing. After acting as the General Manager of the China NCPA Concert Hall Orchestra (2010-2012), HAN returned to Germany to continue the position of Principal Horn of the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Amongst some of the recent highlights in his career, are the release of his Strauss and Mozart recordings by Oehms Classics in 2014 and 2017 consecutively, and the 2016 invitation as the judge in the most prestigious competition for horn, namely the ARD Competition in Munich.