He continued with composition at the conservatories in Milan and Perugia, but later shifted to conducting under Piero Guarino and Franco Ferrara.

He made his conducting debut at La Scala in 1978 with Massenet's Werther, where he had been assistant director to Claudio Abbado since 1973.

[1] Chailly was born on 20 February 1953 into a musical family of Romagnol and French descent based in Milan.

[2] Chailly studied composition with his father,[1] took private piano lessons and played drums in The Nameless, a free jazz ensemble.

He was disappointed by his son's lack of interest in the technical aspects such as musicology, his general mediocrity with instruments other than the drums[2] and wanted to avoid any appearance of nepotism.

[7][1] At age 20, Chailly became assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado at La Scala, where he made his conducting debut in 1978 with Werther by Jules Massenet.

In addition to performances of the standard symphonic tradition, notably Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler, he broadened the repertoire with 20th century and contemporary music.

[10] One report stated that Chailly decided in 2002 to leave the RCO when, at his last contract negotiations, the orchestra offered him an extension for two years rather than five.

However, he concurrently resigned as GMD of the Oper Leipzig, reportedly after a conflict over the hiring of personnel without his consultation.

Other notable achievements include recordings of Igor Stravinsky, Edgard Varèse and Paul Hindemith.

[2] Earlier in his life, Chailly was an avid partaker in extreme sports, including motorbiking, speedboating and parasailing.