A gentle summer rain began to drum on the glass ceiling of the entrance passage to Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts on the evening of 27th July. Inside the ‘Giant Egg’ – as the NCPA’s distinctive titanium‑and‑glass dome is affectionately known – the atmosphere in the concert hall was quietly expectant. This would be the China NCPA Orchestra’s last home performance before heading out on its first ever European tour, and, significantly, the programme closely mirrored what European audiences would soon hear – a performance that was both a farewell and a declaration of readiness.
The programme self-consciously invokes themes of transformation and cultural dialogue. Qigang Chen’s Wu Xing (The Five Elements) opened the evening with its vivid musical imagery. Based on the five elements of ancient Chinese philosophy, the work unfolds in five concise movements – Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth – each distilled to its essential character. Under Myung‑whun Chung’s baton, the NCPA Orchestra painted these elemental portraits with powerful articulation and evocative colors.
The Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet selections transcended their ballet origins, feeling less like orchestral highlights than a condensed opera. Years in the opera pit have sharpened the orchestra’s dramatic instincts – without dancers or scenery, they brought Prokofiev’s tragedy to palpable life through sound alone. Chung drew from the ensemble a remarkable dynamic range, illuminating the tenderness and violence of Shakespeare’s star‑crossed lovers (details that Chung had meticulously refined in the afternoon rehearsal, which bloomed vividly in performance).
Saint‑Saëns’s monumental Symphony no. 3 “Organ” provided a spectacular finale. Driven by incisive rhythms and bold orchestral colors, when the mighty pipe organ joined forces with the brass chorale in the symphony’s closing bars, the effect is overwhelming – a panoramic burst of sound that seemed to radiate confidence for the journey ahead.
The Beijing audience responded with an immediate standing ovation, cheers filling the hall. One sensed the historic nature of the moment, the audience sending off their orchestra like proud family members embarking on a grand adventure.
Speaking to a few audience members confirmed as much. “The orchestra has grown remarkably in 15 years,” observed one Beijing regular. “This performance under maestro Chung was particularly satisfying. I hope the tour shows international audiences Chinese orchestral passion.”
Since its founding in March 2010, the China NCPA Orchestra has been the beating heart of Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts. The futuristic complex – designed by French architect Paul Andreu and opened in 2007 – has served as both incubator and launching pad for this ambitious ensemble. From the beginning, 62 musicians from 27 nations gathered to form the resident orchestra, endowed with enviable institutional support: generous state patronage, a purpose‑built concert hall, and integration with the NCPA’s opera company.
Leadership over these 15 years has passed through distinguished hands. Founding music director Chen Zuohuang – now Conductor Laureate – established the orchestra’s dual identity as both symphonic ensemble and opera orchestra. In 2012, Lü Jia took the helm, bringing international experience (particularly from Italy) that further refined the orchestra’s operatic capabilities. Under Lü’s leadership – he became Chief Conductor in 2012 and Music Director in 2017 – the NCPAO has risen to international standards.
The numbers are impressive too: over 140 concerts annually, reaching approximately 200,000 live audience members, and online streaming concerts regularly drawing tens of millions of viewers across China. These statistics underscore why many consider China the future epicenter of Western classical music.
Among the orchestra’s most ambitious projects has been a complete cycle of Bruckner symphonies under Lü Jia’s direction. These recordings earned international acclaim, with Gramophone praising their Sixth Symphony as “a stimulating and impressive reading… [with] a combination of vigour and sensitivity.” Equally impressive is the orchestra’s venture into Wagner: last August saw China’s first fully staged production of Das Rheingold, launching a multi‑year project to perform the complete Ring cycle by 2026. This Wagnerian ambition has necessitated expanding the orchestra from its current 123 players to a projected 140 by 2026.
The NCPAO has also emerged as one of Asia’s leading commissioners of new orchestral works. The orchestra has given more than 80 world premieres, from Chinese composers including Qigang Chen and Zhao Jiping to international voices such as Bright Sheng, Kalevi Aho, and Huang Ruo. The orchestra’s annual Young Composers Programme selects six to eight emerging Chinese composers whose winning works receive professional performances and, since 2024, digital releases.
“The NCPAO actively communicates with composers to create new culture together,” explains Korean violist Kangrok Nam, one of the orchestra’s many international members. “For example, we often work with Qigang Chen, whose piece we’re bringing on this European tour. The process of transforming the composer’s score into living music happens collaboratively. The composer provides detailed instructions – even specific bowings – and we experiment in rehearsal. If adjustments are needed, we discuss actively with the composer.”
The pandemic years tested the orchestra’s adaptability. When Covid‑19 shuttered concert halls in 2020, the NCPAO pivoted to digital performances, routinely drawing 20–30 million viewers per stream. As live performances resumed, the orchestra strengthened its educational outreach, including partnerships with Beijing schools and nurturing the NCPA’s own Beijing Youth Orchestra, which made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2024.
Through 15 years of dedicated growth within the protective embrace of the Giant Egg, the NCPA Orchestra has evolved from a promising newcomer into a cultural powerhouse – a major orchestra by any international measure, with a distinctive identity forged from Chinese and global influences. Now, like a butterfly ready to emerge from an ovoid chrysalis, the orchestra prepares to test its wings on Europe’s most prestigious stages.
The itinerary, from 6th to 15th August, reads like a classical musician’s dream: Edinburgh International Festival’s Usher Hall (6th August), Saffron Hall in England (8th August), Festival Internacional de Santander in Spain (10th August), Internationales Musikfestival Koblenz in Germany (12th August), and Hamburg’s prestigious Elbphilharmonie (15th August).
Leading the tour is conductor Myung‑whun Chung, recently named the next Music Director of La Scala, Milan – the first Asian to hold that position. His extensive European experience, combined with deep Asian roots, makes him an ideal cultural bridge. “I have long cherished my appearances with the NCPAO,” Chung says. “They are an orchestra that truly listens to each other, has a voracious appetite for new repertoire and for connecting with listeners. Being able to play both orchestral and operatic repertoire gives them a versatility and level of excellence that ensures each performance is thrilling.”
Piano soloist Bruce Liu, who joins the orchestra for this tour, represents a younger generation embodying East‑West synthesis. The 26‑year‑old Canadian pianist of Chinese descent, who won the 2021 Chopin International Competition, first performed with the NCPAO at age 17 – an experience he recalls as “enormously inspiring.” For this tour, Liu will perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, a work he describes as balancing “brilliant, jazzy energy and moments of deep introspection.”
“As someone born in Paris and raised in Montreal, this China‑to‑Europe tour feels like a journey mirroring my own identity, linking two worlds – or, in my case, three,” Liu reflects. “Music becomes the bridge that unites them.”
“Globally, the future of classical music now requires the collaborative efforts of China and many other countries,” emphasizes Ren Xiaolong, the orchestra’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our goal is dialogue, not branding. When European audiences see that classical music has taken deep root in China, they’ll understand that the music’s future is bright.”
Ren is refreshingly candid about the tour’s aspirations: “Of course we have confidence and pride. But I don’t want this to be seen as showing off to other countries or as some kind of competition. Everyone should interact on an equal footing before classical music.” He adds that while showcasing the orchestra’s strengths, they also seek exchange: “Our orchestra will reach overseas audiences with young, passionate performances, while continuously growing through exchanges with diverse musicians visiting China.”
For the musicians themselves, the tour represents both achievement and responsibility. “The moment the music starts, the language barrier disappears,” Bruce Liu notes. “That still feels magical – something the world needs now more than ever.”
On that rainy July evening in Beijing, as the China NCPA Orchestra delivered its tour programme to the home audience, one could sense something fateful. Like the “good rain that knows its season” (好雨知時節) from Du Fu’s celebrated poem Welcome Rain on a Spring Night, this moment arrived at precisely the right time. After 15 years of preparation, the China NCPA Orchestra is ready to break out of its shell and carry a message of shared humanity to European shores.