Finding harmony beyond the conductor's baton

When Chinese conductor Lai Jiajing recently took her daughter horseback riding, she found herself thinking about something beyond the animal's movements.

A horse, she realized, is acutely sensitive to the person riding it. The more relaxed the rider, the more relaxed the horse. Trying too hard to control it, on the other hand, can quickly lead to trouble. In that moment, Lai saw a parallel with her own work on the podium.

"An orchestra is much like a horse," she says. "The musicians reflect your state of mind, your technique and your musical ideas. If you focus too much on controlling them, things can easily go wrong. A conductor and an orchestra are in it together."

The realization reflects a broader shift in how Lai sees her role: not as someone who commands an orchestra from above, but as a musician working alongside others, with mutual respect, care and a shared commitment to the music.

"It's about mutual respect, trust and care, and working together to bring the music to life," she adds.

That philosophy will come into play again in December, when Lai leads The Path of Sojourns, a chamber concert exploring the relationship between poetry and music. The program spans a wide range of works, from Claude Debussy's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), inspired by French poet Stephane Mallarme's poem of the same name, to Chen Qigang's Poeme Lyrique II, based on Shui Diao Ge Tou, a celebrated poem by Song Dynasty (960-1279) poet Su Shi. The program also features three art songs by Franz Schubert.

For Lai, 35, bringing these works together involves more than shaping their sound. It means delving into the texts behind the music, understanding the ideas that inspired the composers and exploring how words and musical expression speak to one another.

The program also includes Rubaiyat by Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina, a work that Lai describes as particularly challenging. Drawing on verses by medieval Persian poets including Omar Khayyam, Hafez and Khaqani, the cantata explores universal questions of life, death, love and the passage of time. Bass-baritone Shen Yang will perform the work in the upcoming concerts.

"The idea of performing this piece came from Shen Yang. It is rarely staged in China, so I had to search extensively for background material and seek help translating the original Russian," Lai says.

For her, such preparation goes beyond identifying musical cues. The words, their historical context and the ideas they convey are all essential to understanding how the music should unfold.

The poetry theme will continue in August 2027, when Lai, resident conductor of the NCPA Orchestra, leads a concert featuring Benjamin Britten's song cycle Les Illuminations, based on poems by French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Written when Rimbaud was still in his teens, the collection is known for its surreal imagery and visionary language, which Britten translates into a richly colored work for voice and string orchestra.

Between these projects, Lai will explore another musical territory. On April 10, 2027, she will collaborate with Chinese French-horn player Zeng Yun, principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. Known for pushing the instrument beyond its conventional orchestral role, Zeng takes on technically demanding repertoire originally written for the violin, exploring the horn's lyrical possibilities. The program will range from Handel and Mozart to Piazzolla and Debussy.

"The projects share a curiosity about what music can become when artists look beyond established boundaries," Lai says.

She acknowledges that programming concerts outside traditional formats demands considerable thought, particularly when there are few established models to follow. She spends long hours immersed in the scores, considering not only how the pieces fit together but also what kind of experience they might create for listeners.

She does not expect audiences to leave a concert with a prescribed emotion or interpretation. "I just hope they will put their phones away, settle into the atmosphere and allow the music to reach them in their own way," she says.

Lyu Jia, artistic director of music at the NCPA Orchestra, describes Lai as one of China's most promising young conductors, praising her broad musical vision, deep understanding and assured command of the music. Li Zhe, the orchestra's general manager, says years of collaboration have brought Lai and the musicians close, with a strong sense of trust and rapport. He looks forward to her taking a more active role in shaping the orchestra's future.

Chinese women began making their mark in orchestral conducting in the mid-20th century. Zheng Xiaoying, widely regarded as China's first prominent female symphony conductor, helped pave the way through her work as a conductor and educator. Later figures, including Chen Lin, Lai's teacher at the Central Conservatory of Music, have continued that legacy by training younger musicians. Today, a new generation of Chinese women conductors is gaining greater visibility at home and abroad.

Lai's own relationship with music began almost by accident.

Born in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, she initially loved drawing. At the age of 5 and a half, however, she visited a friend's home and tried playing the piano. A passing comment that her hands seemed suited to the instrument prompted her family to buy one. Drawing gradually gave way to music.

She won first prize in a Hunan provincial piano competition while still in primary school. She later traveled regularly to Wuhan, Hubei province, for lessons before entering the affiliated middle school of Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

Even then, becoming a professional musician was not an immediate ambition.

It was around the age of 16 that she began to feel a deeper connection between music and her inner life. A choir competition during her first year of high school sparked her interest in conducting, which she later went on to study at Xinghai Conservatory of Music.

During her university years, she attended choir classes led by the late Chinese conductor Yang Hongnian and joined his choir, spending years moving between the roles of pianist, singer and conductor. Those experiences gave her a sense of the possibilities of making music for its own sake, beyond competition and professional expectations.

Motherhood has since added another dimension to her musical journey.

Eight months after giving birth last year, Lai found herself preparing for an international conducting competition at a time when, by her own admission, she felt she had lost some of her professional momentum.

When she came across the La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors, founded in 2019 by the Philharmonie de Paris and the Paris Mozart Orchestra, she decided to enter. It was a chance to challenge herself and regain the confidence and sense of purpose that had carried her through years of musical training.

She eventually finished second, missing first place by a single vote. But the experience brought more than a result: it opened up opportunities to perform in Europe. Among her upcoming engagements is a concert on Saturday at the Philharmonie de Paris. The program features eight art songs by Pauline Viardot, alongside the world premiere of a new work by Philippe Mace inspired by the folk music of the Berry region.

Claire Gibault, French conductor and cofounder of La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors, was among those impressed by Lai's musicianship. After Lai's earlier success at the OFUNAM International Conducting Competition in Mexico in 2018, where she won second prize and an orchestra prize, Gibault, who was on the judging panel of the competition in Mexico, praised her as "a wonderful young Chinese conductor, whose deeply musical approach combines gentleness with a powerful inner energy".