Story| New rhythm: Clara Nováková's flute-ful life in Hangzhou

An increasing number of international friends are coming to Hangzhou to work, start businesses, and live, gradually making the city their second hometown. They are no longer just passing travelers but have settled down here, truly integrating into the fabric of the city. In response, Hangzhoufeel has launched a series of short videos titled Hangzhou and Its Friends, under the theme "This is Where We Belong." The series spotlights multiple foreign friends who have deep roots in various industries, sharing their stories of meeting and growing together with Hangzhou, showcasing a vibrant, inclusive, and warm-hearted city.

The morning mist still clings to the tea bushes of tea plantation as Clara Nováková steps onto the mountain path, her dog Nardis trotting eagerly at her side.Nardis is a very good hiker, making these explorations a frequent joy. To the world, Clara Nováková is an internationally acclaimed flutist, who into the musical lineage of composer Jan Novák, has graced the stages of Paris’s Salle Pleyel and New York’s Carnegie Hall. But here, to the local tea-pickers, she is not a distant maestro, but a cheerful neighbor who greets them with a warm “Nihao” and chats in a self-described, playful“Chinglish”. 

A European Soul in an Ancient Landscape

Clara’s path to China was woven through many cultures. "I consider myself today actually mainly as European," Clara notes, reflecting on a life spanning Denmark, Italy, Germany, France, and Spain. After twenty years in France, she spent a decade teaching at Soochow University in Suzhou. When her students there graduated, the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music offered her a position in 2022. The timing was perfect to change her place within China and embark on a new chapter.

While transitioning to a massive Chinese metropolis might seem daunting, Clara found a familiar comfort in Hangzhou's waters. " I was born near a Czech lake, and we lived on a lake in Italy." she explains. The vast, open sea scares her, but a lake offers a sense of security. "A lake is surrounded and you see the end of it. It is something I am very familiar with, and on rainy days, it has a great atmosphere."

To her, Hangzhou signifies a sensory experience meant to be actively explored, not just a place to work. Rejecting the monotonous "work and sleep" routine, she seeks balance. On rainy days, she avoids the crowds at West Lake to find the city's quiet heart, often taking a bike with her dog to the tea gardens of Longjing. She also loves taking taxis to hike in Longmen and Tonglu. "Just taking the bike and going with the dog is like paradise, really for me," she says with a bright smile.

Forging a Metamorphosis

This vibrant and open attitude extends to her classroom at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music. In a culture where a teacher’s word is often treated as unquestionable truth, Clara works tirelessly to break the mold.

"The European way is much more like—we are discussing something," she notes. She doesn't want "babies" who wait for knowledge to be poured into them; she wants to give them tools to handle life and continue with music independently. To ensure that her students are ready for the stage, she organizes practice concerts where they learn essential rituals, such as bowing and managing their nervousness.

Her third-year student, Tatev from Armenia, watches her with admiration. "Every time you don't understand something, she finds another way to explain it," he says, recalling how she connects flute techniques to vocal singers or other professions.

Clara’s greatest pride comes from witnessing profound transformations. "You can really see them switching from somebody who doesn't even know what is music and then they finish with a concert. I think this is what I like," she says, her eyes lighting up.

The Resilience of Spring

Her adaptability and open-mindedness are inherited from her father, the renowned composer Jan Novák. Clara doesn't see her journey as one continuous line, but rather as having lived "many lives" across different countries and conditions. When asked which piece of music best describes her journey, she points to one of her father's masterpieces, Choreae Vernales (Vernal Dances).

Initially composed for her and a guitarist friend in Italy, the piece evolved through several versions. "It is changing a lot between many different feelings, many different lights, and colors," she describes. The music perfectly reflects the deep optimism her father instilled in her.

Despite the complexities of moving across borders, her life's underlying tone remains profoundly positive. A year ago, she performed this very piece with the Chamber Orchestra of Zhejiang Conservatory, bringing her father’s legacy into her new Chinese home. After forty years of playing it, she feels completely at ease and at home whenever the notes begin.

As she prepares to record contemporary Asian compositions ( Korean, Japanese and Chinese), Clara continues to harmonize her rich European heritage with the spirit of Hangzhou. She is a lady of many lives who has found her tempo in this city of poetry. "I consider myself very lucky," she says, acknowledging the privilege of her journey. "From Suzhou to Hangzhou, both cities are the most beautiful in China. They are the paradise."

If you and the foreign friends around you also have your own special connection with Hangzhou, you are welcome to share it. Hangzhoufeel has long been following such heartwarming stories — international friends thriving on this land of joy is the most touching footnote to Hangzhou's internationalization.

Source: Hanghzhoufeel