CHINESEWESTERN HYBRID MUSIC DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTRALIA AS EXEMPLIFIED THROUGH THE LIFE AND WORKS OF JULIAN YU BRENNA WENG HAN WEE Master of Music Studies (Performing/Teaching) Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts and Music The University of Melbourne August 2011 Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Music Performance (By Research) ABSTRACT This thesis explores the impact of two very different cultural aesthetics on musical hybridisation with a view to showing how this creative process is shaped by social and political events. More specifically, it will focus on Chinese-Western contact in China and in Australia, and aim to show how different political backdrops affect the process of music hybridisation, namely the Opium War, the Cultural Revolution, the White Australia Policy and its eventual abolishment. It will then focus particularly on hybrid Chinese- Western Australian art music from approximately 1980, just after the end of the Cultural Revolution in China, to 2010. Julian Yu’s life and work will be used as a case study for this discussion. Very little literature is available on the nexus between Chinese and Australian art music and also on the work of Yu. This project is aimed at filling that gap and provides vital discussion on this aspect of Australian art music. Some theorising on Chinese-Western hybrid music is available in America. A collection of articles focusing in this topic was found in the Contemporary Music Review Journal. These articles provided the springboard from which to explore the process of music hybridisation and this will be discussed in Chapter 1. Ethnomusicologist Wang Zheng-Ting has written extensively about Chinese music in the New York and Melbourne Diasporas and his material will provide background material for an attempt at tracing the historical development of Chinese-Western music hybridisation. This will be presented in Chapters 1 and 2. The theorising on Chinese-Western music hybrids provided by the American journal articles will be applied to the Australian context. A general survey on Australian composers who have written in this style is conducted using the Australian Music Centre’s website. The findings of i the survey and a brief look at what and how Chinese and Western musical elements interact with each other in Australian compositions are summarised in Chapter 3. Julian Yu was interviewed for the purpose of this study. His musical background, influences on his compositional style, his approaches to composition, how and what aspects of Chinese idioms he has incorporated into specific works were gleaned in three interviews. The findings of the interviews and detailed analyses of three of his works are presented in Chapters 4 and 5. The developmental history of Chinese-Western music hybridisation shows that it has moved from a place of colonial dominance to one which is more egalitarian in the last forty years. This has significant impact on the type of hybrid music that is composed and Julian Yu’s music demonstrates the latter situation of post-colonial egalitarianism. Yu has also been found to be a pivotal figure in introducing the Western European avant garde style into China after the end of the Cultural Revolution. The resultant birth of a new music which fuses both Western and Chinese idioms is due in no small way to his influence. His works illustrate the sophisticated manner in which he has intertwined Chinese and Western aesthetics and reflect his deep understanding of the cultural and musical languages of both cultures. ii CERTIFICATION This is to certify that the thesis comprises only my original work towards the Masters; due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used; the thesis is 14,625 words in length, inclusive of footnotes, but exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. ………………………………………………… Brenna Weng Han WEE / /2011 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the generous help, support and guidance of the following people: Dr Johanna Selleck, my thesis supervisor: for her guidance, feedback and above all, her unwavering belief in the significance of this project Dr Donna Coleman, for inspiring a creative approach to music exploration John McCaughey and Dr Michael Christoforidis, for giving me an education in Sociomusicology Dr Barbara Bolt and Liz Colbert for teaching me how to stage my research Georgina Binns and Lena Vigilante for invaluable help locating vital research material Joan Pollock, for starting me on my journey of exploration for this thesis and for her generous time spent reading my thesis Dr Barry Bignell, who showed me the significance of a musician’s place and role in society Alexandra Serrenti, for helping me develop a critical mind, for her insights into social philosophy and critical theory, for helping to clarify the conceptual framework for my thesis, and for continuing to inspire me to be curious and to learn for a lifetime Above all, Dr Julian Yu and his wife, Marion Gray, for their generosity with their time and their warmth and support. They have helped to fact-check and proofread the final draft of this thesis and have given invaluable suggestions and comments. I am deeply grateful to Dr Julian Yu for giving me the opportunity to document his life and compositional approaches. iv CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................... i Certification ............................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... iv Contents ........................................................................................................................ v INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 8 EARLY CHINESE-WESTERN CONTACT ........................................................................ 8 Politics and Music Hybridisation .......................................................................... 8 The Opium War in China and its Aftermath ..................................................... 10 The Chinese Diaspora in Early Victoria ............................................................. 13 CHAPTER 2 ...................................................................................................................................... 16 CHINESE-WESTERN MUSIC HYBRIDISATION ..................................................... 16 Early Chinese-Western Musical Exchanges in Australia ................................. 16 Hybridisation Developments in China ............................................................... 18 CHAPTER 3 ...................................................................................................................................... 23 CHINESE-WESTERN HYBRID MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA 19802010............... 23 A Point of Confluence............................................................................................23 Composers of Chinese-Western Hybrid Music in Australia ........................... 25 CHAPTER 4 ...................................................................................................................................... 31 JULIAN YU : CHINA TO AUSTRALIA ............................................................................ 31 Musical Background .............................................................................................. 31 China .................................................................................................................... 31 Japan ..................................................................................................................... 33 From China to Australia ...................................................................................... 35 Development of Hybridity in Yu’s Compositions ............................................ 36 Early Explorations ................................................................................................ 36 Establishing Music Hybridity .............................................................................. 40 CHAPTER 5 ...................................................................................................................................... 44 ANALYSES OF WILLOW AND WATTLE (2002), CONCERTO ON CHINESE THEMES (2002) AND MOZARTIANA (2008) ........................................ 44 Willow and Wattle (2002) .................................................................................... 44 v Concerto on Chinese Themes (2002) .................................................................... 55 Mozartiana (2008) ................................................................................................. 63 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 72 APPENDIX A .................................................................................................................................. 75 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................................... 76