# Classical Music is Alive and Well in Asia



## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

I took the violin from about 9 to 12 years of age. I was pathetically bad, but luckily, went on to do far better on the piano. I can't imagine anyone playing the violin this well at age 7. Her command of the E-string is amazing and the vibrato for the melody at 2:48 excellent. Imagine how a reasonably talented violinist at age 20, or so, must feel on watching this.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

This girl is from Japan, a place where western classical music has been strong for generations.

Asia is the ascending giant of classical music. Many orchestras, including the Singapore and Hong Kong philharmonics, are ascending. There are lots of record stores in Asia, too, including some from our old Tower franchise.

Classical music there is becoming what it once was here.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I've played two concert tours in China - the demand for classical music is insatiable. Every city has a state-of-the-art concert hall, a constant stream of visiting orchestras and enthusiastic audiences. I just played in a pick-up group of less than world-class ability, yet we still had packed houses. They love the war horses, but are receptive to modern music, too. The concert hall is Beijing is a stunning venue that I hope to play in once more. Symphony concerts are extremely popular, ballet too. And there's a wonderful shop that sells cds, dvds, etc and some recording format I'd never seen before and still don't know what it was. They also sold books on music, and most surprisingly pocket scores - when was the last time you saw those for sale anywhere? I have a friends who play in the orchestras in Shanghai, Xi'an, and Dalian. They love it! Not paid as well as in the big US orchestras, but they feel so appreciated and the orchestra players are so enthusiastic. Lately there have been political pressures regarding the intrusion of Western culture in China, but hope it passes. I'll add two pictures from a stop in west central China. Exterior and interior. Clear Muslim influence on architecture.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

mbhaub said:


> I've played two concert tours in China - the demand for classical music is insatiable. Every city has a state-of-the-art concert hall, a constant stream of visiting orchestras and enthusiastic audiences. I just played in a pick-up group of less than world-class ability, yet we still had packed houses. They love the war horses, but are receptive to modern music, too. The concert hall is Beijing is a stunning venue that I hope to play in once more. Symphony concerts are extremely popular, ballet too. And there's a wonderful shop that sells cds, dvds, etc and some recording format I'd never seen before and still don't know what it was. They also sold books on music, and most surprisingly pocket scores - when was the last time you saw those for sale anywhere? I have a friends who play in the orchestras in Shanghai, Xi'an, and Dalian. They love it! Not paid as well as in the big US orchestras, but they feel so appreciated and the orchestra players are so enthusiastic. Lately there have been political pressures regarding the intrusion of Western culture in China, but hope it passes. I'll add two pictures from a stop in west central China. Exterior and interior. Clear Muslim influence on architecture.
> View attachment 118100
> View attachment 118101


It's very encouraging...I hope you don't hate me for posting this but I guess it's relevant:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_copyright_infringement_in_China


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Rates of music copyright infringement in China are widely regarded as among the highest in the world.[1] Some reports from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry say about 95 percent or higher of music sales in China are unauthorized, most coming from downloads of copyrighted music on the Internet.[2] There are 456 million Internet users in China and no real legitimate online music service, such as iTunes, that sells copyrighted music.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Big problem in all lower-economic countries. In Beijing, all books, cds, scores looked like the real deal - no cheap printing, or wrong colors. I've seen much more blatant copyright infringement in Mexico where they sell rip-off copies of movies and popular cds for a fraction of the legit items. I will give the Chinese this: you don't dare record a concert with your phone! In some halls they send you through a metal detector and patrons can't even take a phone into the hall. Partly for noise control but also to protect performers from illegal recording. In almost every place there are security people watching the audience, and if they see you with an electronic device they'll shine a laser pointer on the offender, and often have them removed. Big Brother indeed!


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