"Asians in the Classical Music World", author: [US] Mari Yoshihara, translator: Liang Shuang, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House·Baideya, April 2024 Reason for recommendation: In the world of Western classical music, Asians are difficult to An existence that is ignored.

"Asians in the Classical Music World", author: [US] Mari Yoshihara, translator: Liang Shuang, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House·Baideya April 2024

Reason for recommendation:

In the world of Western classical music, Asia Human beings are existences that are difficult to ignore. Yo-Yo Ma, Seiji Ozawa, Tan Dun, Zhang Yongzhou, Lang Lang, Nagano Ken...this series of star-studded "East Asian" names have conquered the audience, and have also been regarded as benchmarks for countless younger generations struggling on the road of music. Sociologist Mari Yoshihara revealed the complex relationship between Western classical music and Asia through in-depth interviews with Asian musicians in the classical music world.

On the one hand, for Asian countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan, classical music has been connected with meanings such as modernity and progress since its initial stage. Out of a catch-up mentality, Asian countries have eagerly incorporated classical music into their national education systems at the government level. At the individual level, classical music has always been an important medium that satisfies the imagination of East Asian middle-class families to "join the elite." On the other hand, in a world where Western musicians dominate, Asians also face subtle identity issues. The Suzuki teaching method, which originated in Asia and became popular in the United States, has shaped the stereotype of Asian musicians as diligent and mechanical in the Western music industry - almost simultaneously with the formation of the "model minority" stereotype.

Mari Yoshihara discovered that many Asians in the classical music world can not only alleviate the sense of marginalization they feel in Western society through their achievements in music, but also clearly realize their Asian identity in a music environment where Western languages ​​are common. . Among them, classical musicians from Japan, South Korea, and China have different feelings. Classical music is like a prism, reflecting the process of "crossing borders" Asians' pursuit of self-identity, and also questioning many popular crude summary of "East Asianness". Written by

/Editor by Liu Yaguang

/Gongzi Liu Yaguang

Proofreader/Zhai Yongjun