Conductor Lyu Jia and the China NCPA Orchestra perform at the Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall in April. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

For 10 years, the baton of in-house maestro Lyu Jia has helped guide the NCPA Orchestra to find its own symphonic voice and achieve global recognition, Chen Nan reports.

Witnessing the birth and growth of a symphony orchestra is a fascinating experience－particularly if you've written some of its history.

That's what conductor Lyu Jia says when he looks back upon his time with the China NCPA Orchestra which started 10 years ago.

When the National Center for the Performing Arts opened in 2007, the venue, designed by French architect Paul Andrew, attracted lots of attention, not only because of its bubblelike aesthetic, which is a distinctive sight alongside Beijing's Chang'an Avenue, but also because it attracted a long list of top global artists and performing arts companies. And, at a time when many of the world's opera houses were cutting their budgets, the venue produced lavish Chinese and Western productions.

To meet the demand of its busy schedule, the venue founded its own symphony orchestra in March 2010 and became the first theater in China to have resident musicians drawn from all over the world.

Invited to take up the position by Chen Zuohuang, the NCPA's founding music director, it took Lyu a while to make the decision, as he had been living and working in Europe for about two decades.

Eventually, though, Lyu saw the opportunity it presented and became the symphony orchestra's first dedicated, in-house conductor.

Born into a musical family in Shanghai, Lyu began studying piano and cello at a young age. He studied conducting at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 1987 and, at the age of 24, entered the University of Arts in Berlin in 1988. The following year, he was awarded both the first prize and jury's prize at the Antonio Pedeotti International Conducting Competition in Trento, Italy, which enabled him to launch his career as a conductor.

Before he was appointed as the artistic director for the NCPA and chief conductor of the China NCPA Orchestra, Lyu was previously musical director of Verona Opera in Italy, and was the first Asian conductor to serve as the artistic director of a major Italian opera house－the homeland of the European opera tradition. He was chief conductor at Trieste Opera, and he also led productions at La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Bavarian State Opera, among others.

He has led orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. He was also the first ever Chinese conductor to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and to record the complete orchestral works of German composer Felix Mendelssohn.

"At that time, the China NCPA Orchestra was very young and dynamic. The members of the orchestra were in their 20s and they were passionate about music and eager to learn," recalls Lyu.

In 2008, Lyu performed with the China NCPA Orchestra when the NCPA produced its first opera, Puccini's masterpiece Turandot.

"I enjoyed working with them and wanted to share my experience and put them on the right track. After over 20 years working with European opera houses, I dreamed of conducting the best operas in China. It was time to fulfill that dream, so I returned and accepted the job," says Lyu.

The training of the young musicians was not easy. As well as a large repertoire, especially the classic pieces from Western operas, they also needed to learn about the history and culture of these musical works. Lyu also shared his own experience of working with European opera houses as a young conductor.

"When I was offered the opportunity to be a conductor in Italy, I could barely speak Italian. All those musicians have performed operas for decades and are very seasoned. I was very nervous to work with them in the beginning," he recalls.

The only way to win the trust and recognition from those musicians was to work very hard, he adds.

"One of the biggest rewards of working in Europe was to learn with very established musicians. Their knowledge and artistic sense for opera were invaluable. I shared those stories with the young musicians of the China NCPA Orchestra, who needed to learn things beyond just technique," says Lyu.

In 2014, led by Lyu, the China NCPA Orchestra had their first tour of North America, performing at venues such as Kennedy Center in Washington, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In 2017, they toured the United States with six concerts held in cities such as Chicago, New York and Philadelphia.

In April, under the baton of Lyu, the China NCPA Orchestra embarked on its first nationwide tour, visiting six Chinese cities including Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Shanghai, Wuhan in Hubei province, and Changsha in Hunan province. The orchestra performed pieces such as composer Zhao Jiping's Violin Concerto No 1, Austrian composer Anton Bruckner's Symphony No 6 in A Major and German composer Johannes Brahms' Symphony No 3 in F Major.

"Some of the music pieces are very challenging, but with the growth of the orchestra, the musicians can handle them, especially the German and Austrian works, which I believe, are the very foundation of classical music. I am glad that during the past 10 years, we have found a sound that belongs to the China NCPA Orchestra together," says Lyu.

He notes that the past 10 years of working in his home country has also allowed him to witness the development of the classical music scene in China.

"The young Chinese musicians are offered more opportunities than ever before. When we toured nationwide this April, we saw enthusiastic audiences who enjoy classical music and new concert halls built for symphonic music. It's exciting and inspiring," says Lyu.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn