Passing on the symphonic baton

The season launch followed the orchestra's 70th anniversary gala at Beijing Concert Hall on July 10, an emotional reunion of musicians who have shaped the ensemble across generations.

Nine conductors with deep connections to the orchestra, including Tang Muhai, Tan Lihua, Hu Yongyan, Chen Xieyang, Li Xincao and Shui, performed at the concert with the orchestra.

For conductor Li Xincao, the anniversary was not only a milestone for the institution, but a reflection of his own artistic journey.

"From the days when I was a young student looking up at the stage of the China National Symphony Orchestra (formerly known as the Central Philharmonic Society), to the years when I have conducted the China National Symphony Orchestra and stood alongside its musicians through countless seasons and international tours, my connection with this orchestra has accompanied my entire artistic life," Li says. "It has long been inseparable from who I am."

Li's relationship with the orchestra is also tied to one of its most important traditions of artistic inheritance. Recalling the moment when Li Jue, the widow of cofounding member and conductor Li Delun (1917-2001), handed him the legendary conductor's baton, he says: "At that moment, I felt I was receiving not only a baton, but the responsibility, artistic lineage and ideals passed down by generations of musicians of the orchestra."

To Li Xincao, the well-worn baton symbolizes the orchestra's enduring spirit — a reminder that conducting is ultimately about human connection, not technical display.

For the orchestra's leadership, the anniversary is less about looking back than moving forward.

"Seventy is still young," says Zhou Yu, secretary of the orchestra's Party committee. "We cannot simply live on past achievements. We must carry forward the traditions of our predecessors, renew ourselves and begin the next chapter."

He believes orchestral music has an even greater role to play in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

"AI can replace many kinds of work," Zhou says. "But humanity and the kind of reflection on life that reaches directly to the heart can never be replaced by machines."