# What's going on in Asia?



## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

I heard a rumour that classical music is close to 20% of total music sales in South Korea. For comparison, I think it's about 9% in France. The total is unknown to me so 20% may be meaningless.

On paper, it seems wrong but my memory goes back to when the Berlin Philharmonic went to Taiwan a few years ago. They had an audience of about 70,000. Some at the concert and the rest watching live on giant screens around the city.

Note, the age demographic in this video. Anyone been there/from there? What's the story?


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I live in S Korea and I suspect that a large part of the explanation is that Korean people who don't listen to classical music get their music illegally. 

But it is also true that classical music is pretty popular here. It's an upwardly mobile society, bourgeois aspirations, like the USA c. 1948.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Other figures: apparently there´s 75 million Chinese studying the piano, and 25 million Chinese violin players
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hengsha...scouting-of-classical-music-talents-in-china/


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

There are a lot of Chinese out there. I suspect there's also a feeling that they can "prove" something to the West by excelling at our music, even if we don't care so much anymore.


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## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

science said:


> I live in S Korea and I suspect that a large part of the explanation is that Korean people who don't listen to classical music get their music illegally.
> 
> But it is also true that classical music is pretty popular here. It's an upwardly mobile society, bourgeois aspirations, like the USA c. 1948.


I read similar explanations in korean classical forums - classical listeners in s.korea more likely to get music legally than those who listen to other genres. 20% still seems unrealistically high.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

In the news not too long ago: China is planning a $10 billion "music city" outside Beijing with numerous conservatories, performance venues, and so forth. Can't find the article right now.

Soon it'll be raining Lang Langs...


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## Rhythm (Nov 2, 2013)

I'll be searching for that ^ article, Ken. If you happen to relocate the url of the piece, I'd appreciate it. 
Thanks! 
And you're right, Ken, wrt the LLs, et al .

Well, here's information via Wiki, as of this post: The Railway page was last modified on 6 May 2014; the Harbin-UNESCO page was last modified on 18 May 2014; and the Creative Cities Network page was last modified on 10 January 2014.

. Beijing is connected to Harbin by Jingha Railway.

. On 22 June 2010, Harbin was appointed a UNESCO "City of Music" as part of the Creative Cities Network.


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## aimee (Nov 7, 2013)

KenOC said:


> In the news not too long ago: China is planning a $10 billion "music city" outside Beijing with numerous conservatories, performance venues, and so forth. Can't find the article right now.
> 
> Soon it'll be raining Lang Langs...





Rhythm said:


> I'll be searching for that ^ article, Ken. If you happen to relocate the url of the piece, I'd appreciate it.
> Thanks!
> And you're right, Ken, wrt the LLs, et al .
> ...


Probably this would be one of the articles you're talking about? 
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/25/china-music-valley-cultural-profile


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

aimee said:


> Probably this would be one of the articles you're talking about?
> http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/25/china-music-valley-cultural-profile


Yes, I think it is. My US$10 billion was a bit exaggerated. How much is $1.4 billion pounds?


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## Levanda (Feb 3, 2014)

KenOC said:


> In the news not too long ago: China is planning a $10 billion "music city" outside Beijing with numerous conservatories, performance venues, and so forth. Can't find the article right now.
> 
> Soon it'll be raining Lang Langs...


Also I heard not long time on Russian TV that Chinese got million composers, I would suprise if that truth.


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## IBMchicago (May 16, 2012)

I once had a candid chat with a good friend born in Korea who excelled at advanced piano repertoire, and we discussed the possible reasons for what appears to be strong cultural success in classical musicianship. She told me that many Asian parents want to expose their children to western things, but are also rather cautious about losing traditions/values. Western classical music is a great way to allow their children to experience Western arts/culture without "corrupting" the eastern traditions. In addition, it takes jedi focus to be able to excel at classical musicianship. This level of focus is not so daunting to many Asians who have used the same concentration abilities to excel at the martial arts.


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## aimee (Nov 7, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Yes, I think it is. My US$10 billion was a bit exaggerated. How much is $1.4 billion pounds?


@ today's rate = 1.69
GBP 1.4 bil x 1.69 = USD 2.366 bil for 10 years at least (per article)
average = USD 236.6 mil/year or USD 19.7 mil/month

Good for them, there willl be more jobs and they probably want to use music business as an expansion for economy in addition to the existing electronic business.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

In Korea and Japan at least, learning to play classical music is a forced discipline for many children, the family signing their children up for lessons and making it mandatory. The benefits of brain development of learning to read and play an instrument are known and believed, and it seems music, whether the child likes it or wishes to continue or not, is used as the more abstract lesson in adhering to a discipline in order to learn discipline. Children are started with music lessons in very early childhood, and they are not permitted to stop until their late teens. This direct application and use of western classical music is somewhat ruthlessly pragmatic.

Some of that enforced study does generate sincere interest. That classical music plays another role in those cultures makes for a social dynamic, i.e. respecting and at least appearing to care about classical music is very much an aspired to upper rung social strata, ergo appearances, i.e. a public 'face' many want to at least put up and maintain, whether it be sincere or otherwise.

It used to be, and may still be, that a routine part of Korean public schooling has students in the early grades all learn sight-singing and solfege.

Combine, mix, stir -- recalling that sense of duty and obligation -- a sense of 'face' -- which is in place and deeply strong and important beyond what most of us westerners can begin to imagine, add those who _actually_ love and enjoy classical (so many more exposed to it early, the more genuine fans) and you get your demographic of why those Asian Cultures have that percentile rate of concert attendance, sheet music and recording sales, and so many instrumental students.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

One of the reasons that I think Western classical music has been so embraced in Asian cultures is their overall appreciation of music in general. There is an enormous "classical" Eastern music tradition, and whole performance/composition traditions alongside it. Even more, a lot of their traditional instruments have parallels in the West, for example the Chinese _erhu_ is a lot like violin and cello. Also the Chinese _dizi _and Japanese _fue _were the foundations of training in Western flute. In the effort to Westernize, picking up certain skills like violin was no shake to their old aesthetic views. In many ways, I think the piano has become the modern day Chinese _qin _and Japanese _koto _of the elite class. There has been a lot of criticism of the system today, which people say is churning out "mechanical players." Nevertheless, though many don't continue playing when they get older, I'm sure that there has been good results too.

I still love looking at this video today:




If only people screamed like this to Glazunov around _here_... I guess one can dream...


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

I should add this: In Japan at least, there is a social tenet that one does not outwardly show or inwardly indulge ones personal emotions, so much in that area considered a display of weakness or lack of personal discipline. Many who find their way to Western classical music find it the one acceptable outlet for that personal expression which is not so readily available within their own arts traditions.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

science said:


> I live in S Korea and I suspect that a large part of the explanation is that Korean people who don't listen to classical music get their music illegally.


I don't doubt that but surely that's the case everywhere.



KenOC said:


> In the news not too long ago: China is planning a $10 billion "music city" outside Beijing with numerous conservatories, performance venues, and so forth. Can't find the article right now.
> 
> Soon it'll be raining Lang Langs...


With a 100 million piano/violin students...I guess they have to go somewhere!
Teachers may want to brush up on there Mandarin.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> If only people screamed like this to Glazunov around _here_... I guess one can dream...


Perhaps it was induced Simonov's funky dance moves.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Couac Addict said:


> Perhaps it was induced Simonov's funky dance moves.


Haha yeah I thought so too :lol: Maybe everyone should perform Glazunov like that.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Couac Addict said:


> I heard a rumour that classical music is close to 20% of total music sales in South Korea. For comparison, I think it's about 9% in France. The total is unknown to me so 20% may be meaningless.
> 
> On paper, it seems wrong but my memory goes back to when the Berlin Philharmonic went to Taiwan a few years ago. They had an audience of about 70,000. Some at the concert and the rest watching live on giant screens around the city.
> 
> Note, the age demographic in this video. Anyone been there/from there? What's the story?


I think that more Asians generally love classical music in high percentages. Plus it's cooler to love classical music.

Seriously in Taiwan it's like "Who's Taylor Swift?"


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

science said:


> I live in S Korea and I suspect that a large part of the explanation is that Korean people who don't listen to classical music get their music illegally.


Several people responded to that... but everyone ignored this:



science said:


> But it is also true that classical music is pretty popular here. It's an upwardly mobile society, bourgeois aspirations, like the USA c. 1948.


Which is too bad because I now think that's the main explanation.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Couac Addict said:


> I don't doubt that but surely that's the case everywhere.


You are probably right about that.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

We toured Japan a few years ago and it was a big response from there as well. Not quite the frenzy the BPO received haha but we were busy signing stuff which was weird.


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## GhenghisKhan (Dec 25, 2014)

It's heartwarming for sure. The total opposite of the West.


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