Chinese conductor becomes first woman in charge of BBC orchestra
Xian Zhang is the first woman to be appointed as the principal guest conductor with one of the BBC's orchestra, the National Orchestra of Wales. The Chinese-born conductor feels that now should be the time to introduce more female conductors within the industry.
"Someone has to make a start. In fact, in China, female conducting is not a new phenomenon. A lot of conducting teachers are female,"Zhang says.
With the rapid growth of orchestral culture within China, Zhang thinks that the demand for conductors is increasing. And young conductors should seek the opportunities to work in China, a hotspot that every foreign musician wants to visit.
"It's important to explore the world but China is such a great market to be into make music,"Zhang says.
She did not leave the country until she wentg to the US when she was 25 years old. When she started conducting courses at school in the US, she was surprised that what she learned in China had never been taught elsewhere.
"The education in China for conducting is at a very compelling level. I didn't realize at that point that how much I had learned compared to other students in America. Students who are learning conducting in China now should realize how fortunate they are,"Zhang says.
The specific training that Zhang learned in Beijing helped built up her foundation, which assisted her study in the US further. In China, teacher set goals for students to achieve and there are theories and analysis to deal with.
However when Zhang studied in the US, she had to come up with her own methods. Zhang also gained experience of conducting a real orchestra twice a week, learning how to rehearse with a group of people.
"The philosophy of education in the US was free. The teaching doesn't limit you nor ask you to imitate anything. Some people might not do well, but they still allow you to try,"Zhang says.
Zhang has a track record of cooperating with a number of orchestras around the world. She was appointed as music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in the states.
And she has been the music director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi in Italy since 2009. Zhang was also a regular conductor with the London Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras. China certainly is on her agenda, as every year Zhang works with up to four orchestras back in China. Having a tight schedule across the globe makes her one of the top 150 busiest conductors in a BBC Music poll in 2015, which only has four women on the list.
Speaking of orchestras in China, Zhang thinks that the culture is growing rapidly, thanks to the growing economy.
"As the economy is growing a lot, the needs of people, emotionally and spiritually, grow as well. In a way they need some kind of entertainment in the evening time. Something that is different from what they experience in daily life,"Zhang says.
The medium-size cities in China start forming their own orchestras. More concert halls are being built, too.
"Almost every time I went back to China I would hear a newly formed orchestra. It's fantastic,"Zhang says, "There are also young conductors coming out from music schools in China and they are well-trained. They proved themselves by participating in a lot of international competitions as well.”
Born in Dandong, China, near the North Korea border, Zhang got her music influence from her parents. She started learning piano at three years old, with her mother who was a music teacher. Her father, a musical instrument maker, and a musician himself, built her the first piano.
Zhang then attended the Central Conservatory of Music, a leading music school in Beijing, where lots of musicians were trained, such as Lang Lang, the concert pianist.
Zhang was learning piano at first. She recalled that her teacher kept complaining about how small her hands were. Then she met Professor Wu Lingfen, who introduced her to conducting after five years studying piano.
She did not consider conducting as a choice of career until she became 20. "When you are young you don't think too much about where you should go. I received many challenges to prove that I really wanted to be a conductor,"Zang says.
Yet Zhang is not alone when she switches from piano to conducting. Most of the conductors start on instruments and switch to conducting afterwards.
"Conducting is somehow an intimidating job to be thinking of,"Zhang says, "Therefore not only women who are not active in this sector, not a lot of men are thinking to become conductors as well.”
"I would love to encourage more girls in learning this. I get in touch with a few. But it still takes time,"Zhang says. She sees a lot of talented female conductors coming, and in time audience will see many more.
Yet Zhang also feels she has a responsibility to set a good example for more female conductors to come. "Somehow you have to prove to people that there's no difference between female and male in conducting,"she says.
Under the new appointment as the principal guest conductor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Zhang will join in September this year for three years and conduct around a dozen concerts a year, all over Wales and at the BBC Proms. Highlights of the season include a performance at a prominent welsh music festival and a collaboration with Chinese composer Qigang Chen.
Michael Garvey, Director, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, said they were thrilled to have Xian Zhang as part of the family as Principal Guest Conductor.
"Our recent concerts with her, in Swansea and the BBC Proms, were so energized, balanced and refined; we knew that an appointment would be the perfect fit. We look forward to seeing her back in Cardiff in September,"Garvey said.
Karen Kwok is a freelance writer who contributed this piece to China Daily.
