READING CONTEMPORARY CHINESE MUSIC: RECONSIDERING IDENTITY AND CULTURAL POLITICS IN ANALYSIS

Abstract

This thesis focuses on a number of key themes in identity politics in the study of contemporary Chinese music to date. The purpose is two-fold: firstly, to derive novel analytical approaches that will adequately address the socio-political implications of meaning making in a globalized age; secondly, to re-evaluate the role of technical analysis in the reading of contemporary Chinese music. I perform close reading in some of my discussions, and focus on meta-cultural narratives in other instances. Whenever technical analytical accounts are given, I take great care to articulate my intention and agenda as an analyst; in cases where note-to-note analysis is not necessary or appropriate, I read the sonic, visual, cultural and social features of the work as sets of interdependent texts. My goal is not to give a complete diagnostic overview of the field, but rather, to articulate a unique position as an artist born of multiple ethnic and national origins who considers himself a composer, sound artist and critic all in one.

The first chapter reconsiders the function of technical analysis in the reading of contemporary Chinese composition. The next two chapters turn to the question of meta-cultural frameworks, specifically, I elaborate on how a globalized Chinese modernity appears to manifest in the recent works of contemporary Chinese composers. The fourth and final chapter looks at the implications of this new transnational Chinese modernity for critics and analysts.

The dissertation concludes with two large scale compositions, namely Electric Counterpoint, a concerto for orchestra, tape and live improvised electronics; and I am thinking in a room, different from the one you are hearing in now, an audio- visual performance piece scored for two performers with brainwave sensors.