Locating East Asia in Western Art Music

The traditional musics of China, Japan and Korea have been an important source of inspiration for many Western composers. Some, like Chou Wen-chung and John Cage, have moved beyond superficial borrowing of "Eastern" musical elements in earnest attempts to understand non-Western principles of composition. At the same time many Asian composers, often trained in the West or in Western music traditions, have been using Aisan elements to create works of unique musical synthesis. As a result of such cultural interpenetrations, the landscape of Western art music has been irreversably altered. This book presents a comparative study of Asian-influenced Western composers and Western-influenced Asian composers, and an exploration of this cross-cultural exchange. Bringing together work by music theorists, musicologists and ethnomusicologists, it explores how musical notions of East and West are constructed and utilized by composers, and re-evaluates the many ways East Asian composers have contributed to developments in 20th century music. Some of the composers that are discussed include John Cage, Isang Yun, John Zorn and Toshiro Mayuzumi.