East Asian and “Extraordinary”: Intersecting Racial and Musical Identities in the Classical Music Solo Career

<p>A performer’s success within the classical music industry is reliant not only on musical merit but also on extramusical factors like race, gender, class, and culture, all of which influence a musician’s upbringing. For East Asian musicians, distinctions of merit can be accompanied by racialized and often paradoxical narratives about Asian identity that essentialize their performance, personality, and background. This dissertation examines how Asian and Asian-American performers of Western classical music navigate this interplay of racial and musical identity within their careers, with a specific focus on string players and pianists.</p> <p>Chapter 2 introduces five major racialized narratives used to characterize Asian musicians. It reveals that these stereotypes are often contradictory, reflective of their historical contexts in which a White and Eurocentric system sought to control and undermine Asian bodies. It also considers how famous solo artists have at times accommodated, perpetuated, confronted, or distanced from these narratives to various effects. Then, the crux of the discussion brings the focus to how Asian musicians internalize and navigate these perceptions of Asian identity for themselves. Chapter 3 explores how talented young soloists simultaneously subscribe to classical music’s meritocracy while being subject to racial capitalism from young artist management. Chapter 4 reveals that for more established Asian performers who are also artistic directors of their own organizations, their leadership grants them the power to create, organize, and curate musical acts that amplify the fusion between their unique musical and racial identities. In focusing on Asian classical musicians, this dissertation attends to the lesser-discussed viewpoints and experiences of individuals who are engaging with classical music and the industry in noteworthy ways.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Musical Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor

The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Chen, Audrey

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Joseph Straus

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Stephanie Jensen-Moulton
• Eric Hung
• Anaar Desai-Stephens

• Asian American Studies
• Music Education
• Music Pedagogy
• Music Performance
• United States
• Western Classical Music
• performance

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6316

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:gc_etds-7414