The west and the rest of classical music: Asian musicians in the Finnish media coverage of the 1995 Jean Sibelius Violin Competition

Abstract

Western classical music is in many ways connected with Whiteness, despite the rarity of explicit expressions of race and ethnicity in connection to the culture of this musical form. However, perhaps because of the presumed abstract nature of music and the persistence of Romantic notions of music’s autonomy, music scholars have only just begun to address issues of race and raciality, Whiteness and postcolonialism. This article explores race, ethnicity and racism in a specific context – the media coverage of the 1995 International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, which was held in Finland. The case occurred during a time of increased immigration to Finland, when tensions concerning race and ethnicity were high. Issues of race and racism are problematic in connection to the idea of musical autonomy, as the ideal holds that the music itself does not have anything to do with extra-musical phenomena such as gender, nationality, race and ethnicity. The Finnish media coverage of the Sibelius Competition exhibited everyday racism, as it explicitly referred only rarely to racial or ethnic differences. When racialized estimations were expressed explicitly in the media, their connections with ethnicity or race were not articulated.