Conductor

Since winning the 2016 Mahler International Conducting Competition, Wong has guest lent his services to some of the world's leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Czech Philharmonic.
An active promoter of contemporary composers and intercultural dialogue, Wong has conducted the world premieres of Tan Dun's Fire Ceremony with the New York Philharmonic, Toshio Hosokawa's The Prayers with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Lina Esmail's Concerto for Hindustani Violin with the Seattle Symphony. During his time as Principal Guest Conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic, he commissioned Narong Prancharoen's Reflections of Shadows. For his final performance as Principal Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Wong reconstructed Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for five Chinese folk instruments and orchestra, which was performed at the Classic Open Air Festival before an audience of 75,000 and broadcast internationally on German public radio and Bavarian Radio. His recordings of Britten's "Prince of the Pagodas" and Bruckner's Symphony No. 9, released in his first year with the Hallé Orchestra, were highly praised in the June 2025 issue of British Gramophone magazine, who called them "essential listening for all Bruckner lovers." He is also scheduled to record Mahler's Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" with the same orchestra.

He has also written many works as a composer, and in 1999 he composed the orchestral piece "Passacaglia," which was commissioned to commemorate 400 years of relations between Japan and the Netherlands. When it premiered with the Netherlands Philharmonic, it was met with rapturous applause from the audience. The piece has since been performed on various occasions.
In addition to his energetic musical activities, he also writes essays and contributes them to various media outlets, demonstrating his multifaceted talent with his sensitive and emotional narrative style. His published books include "The Conductor's Soliloquy" (Kiko Shobo) and "Let's Go to the Orchestra with Kobayashi Kenichiro" (Shunposha).

He currently serves as Honorary Conductor Laureate of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Special Guest Conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, and Honorary Guest Conductor of the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra. He also holds important positions as Music Director of the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and Music Director of the Nagano Prefectural Artistic Directors' Group, and Professor Emeritus of the Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo College of Music, and the Liszt Academy of Music.

Official website:http://www.it-japan.co.jp/kobaken/

The following "Season II Scriabin" presented Scriabin's unique, colorful, and mysterious world in an easy-to-understand and dynamic way, a work unfamiliar to Japanese audiences. Starting in the 2014/2015 season, "Season III Shostakovich" was performed over two years, drawing attention for its incredible sound pressure and performances that seemed to be possessed by the composer. "Season IV Glazunov" began in the 2016/2017 season.

He studied under L. Ginzburg at the Moscow Conservatory, graduating with honors. In 1971, he won first prize at the USSR International Conductors' Competition, and the following year won first prize and a gold medal at the Karajan Conductors' Competition in Berlin. From 1987 to 1995, he served as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Theatre, the first conductor to hold both titles in 30 years. During this time, he performed unprecedented programs and received high praise on tours such as Tokyo (1989), La Scala di Milano (1989), the Edinburgh Festival (1990 and 1991), and the New York Metropolitan Opera (1991). His outstanding works at the Bolshoi Theatre, including Glinka's Ivan Susanin, Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Mlada, have been adapted for film. Furthermore, he has released numerous recordings with the Bolshoi Orchestra on Erato, including Russian symphonies such as Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8, which have received rave reviews.

He has released numerous CDs, including recordings with the Bolshoi Orchestra on Erato, Melodiya, and Virgin Classics, as well as with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He has also recorded many with the Japan Philharmonic, most recently with Octavia Records, which released Rachmaninoff: Complete Symphonies and Shostakovich's Symphonies Nos. 4, 11, and 8, followed by his 7th Symphony "Leningrad" in July 2016.

In recent years, he has made guest appearances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra of Milan, the Swiss-Italian Orchestra, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Slovenia Philharmonic, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, etc. In Japan, he has been frequently invited to perform with orchestras across the country, as well as the Saito Kinen Orchestra and the Mito Chamber Orchestra, where he has received rave reviews.
In the field of opera conducting, he made his highly acclaimed debut at the Sydney Opera House with Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera and Rigoletto, and has since led numerous successful productions across a wide range of repertoire, from Gluck and Mozart to Puccini, and even the Japanese premiere of Oswald Golijov's Ainadamar.

He served as the principal conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra from September 1991 to August 2000.
He served as the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra's principal conductor from April 2008, and has been its principal conductor and music advisor since April 2014.
He received the Suntory Music Award with the orchestra in 2015. He has also served as a friendship guest conductor of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra since April 2017. In April 2020, his 13th season as a principal conductor, he became the 13th principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra.
He has also served as director of Kyoto Concert Hall since April 2020. He is also passionate about educational activities as a professor of conducting at Tokyo College of Music.