Standing in the center of the stage, the gray-haired conductors wave their hands lightly, and the melody of the orchestra flows with them — in many people's minds, this is the typical picture that comes to mind when they think of "conductor", they are bright and elegant, they are at ease, and they are still old and steady. In March this year, the national centre for the performing arts orchestra official announced Lai Jiajing as one of the new assistant conductors, and Lai Jiajing in the work photos was full of vitality and had a cute baby face, she was a post-90s generation.
Photography Niu Xiaobei
"The first time I had a concept of conducting was when I was in my second year of junior high school listening to concerts between the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and Ashkenaki." That day, Lai Jiajing sat under the organ, facing the podium. In the second half, Ashkenaci conducted the orchestra to play Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, "Why is it that as soon as he swings his stick, the orchestra's voice is weak, his eyes are glaring, and his voice is stronger?" Lai Jiajing exclaimed in her heart, commanding, "It's really amazing."
"A lot of the audience saw a moment when the conductor's scenery was infinite." When I was in high school at the Affiliated Middle School of Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Lai Jiajing, who conducted the chorus of her classmates, was also immersed in this happiness, "Imagining that the whole world is mine, I am very satisfied." The bubble of dreams was quickly shattered after being admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music.
Is a conductor who seems to be able to dance on stage more talent than effort? "I thought that when I studied conducting, I would finally not have to practice the piano for 5 or 6 hours a day." Lai Jiajing really did not expect, "This is the beginning of the pain." The Central Conservatory of Music's modern conducting pedagogy is quite famous, but "it's really too hard to practice." In the first 3 years, Lai Jiajing "took a small stick every day, tapped the music frame or waved it in the mirror, practiced illustrations, practiced shooting, and practiced for 4 hours a day." "After practicing the technique in her hand, she also had to memorize the score, she had to sing all the voice parts by herself, and the scene was so lonely that it was even a little funny." I always want to escape, and I often feel 'dark'. Lai Jiajing kept asking herself, can she really become a conductor in the future?
The late Famous Conductor Yang Hongnian retained a beam of light for Lai Jiajing in the "Darkest Hour". At that time, every Sunday afternoon, Lai Jiajing would play the piano to the children of the Yang Hongnian Choir (now the Beijing Philharmonic Choir), which was her only "utopian time". Yang Hongnian saw Lai Jiajing's struggle and said to her: "When the heart arrives, it will reach the hand." ”
Just a few words woke up Lai Jiajing. Conductors need to unite their hearts and hands, and only by first feeling the details of the music can they be expressed through their hands, "I also told myself that all the techniques I learned now are for the future expression of music." Lai Jiajing survived. In the second semester of her junior year, she broke into the top 6 in the first Li Delun China Conducting Competition, officially strengthening her belief in becoming a conductor.
Photography Niu Xiaobei
But the doubts about the "doll conductor" will not fade. Conductors need to have a deep enough understanding of music and enough driving ability, which is largely derived from the accumulation of life experience. Near her undergraduate graduation, when Lai Jiajing interned in a professional orchestra, "every time I was questioned. The sound of the orchestra came like an ocean wave, and listening to the CD was a very different experience, and she was a little confused at once, "I can't identify the problem, I don't know what to say, I can only say something blindly with my eyebrows and beard." In an instant, she could feel strange eyes coming from all corners and brushing them on her body.
"I'm like a heavily armed warrior in armor, afraid that others will shoot arrows." After two hours of rehearsal, Lai Jiajing was physically and mentally exhausted. This state of tension continued until she attended a master class organized by master conductor Heydink at the Lucerne Festival. "You've been 'giving' out." Hedink keenly saw the crux of the matter, "Relax, try to get some energy from the orchestra." This is a place where you can listen to everyone play without waving. Lai Jiajing, who had been screwing for a long time, suddenly realized, "Musicians are equal, but everyone is responsible for different work, you are responsible for playing, I am responsible for connecting the whole structure, we are working together to create a very wonderful musical experience, this feeling is new." ”
Now, as the assistant conductor of the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, Lai Jiajing has to deeply assist music director Lu Jia and other guest conductors in rehearsing and performing, "Starting from the early stage of building a shelf for a work, we have to communicate with musicians, musicians and conductors, and do a lot of desk work." From the current life experience, "Conductor Lai Jiajing" is not mysterious, this special profession is more reduced by her down-to-earth meticulous efforts, rather than a dizzying legend. In the current classical music scene, it is not uncommon for "false conductors" to pretend to be exaggerated and postures, "What is difficult to learn this kind of 'performance' and action?" A good conductor, precisely on the opposite side, they need to be able to understand and master the details of the music. Lai Jiajing smiled and said, "Now, my experience as a conductor has just begun." ”
【Biography】
Lai Jiajing, Double Master of Orchestra Conducting, Central Conservatory of Music and University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, USA. In 2018, he won the second place in the first OFNAM International Conducting Competition in Mexico and the "OFUNAM Special Prize" selected by the members of the orchestra. In 2022, he officially joined the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra and served as assistant conductor.