This fills me with great pride!!

I'm not that old, Oscar, but I can feel a great deal of your pride. It's quite significant how much of great music may be produced by unsung heroes across the globe.

I find myself, now, in one of the major countries of Asia and I am amazed at the quantity (and the quality, to a considerable extent) of soloists and orchestras existing in the triangle China-Japan-South Korea, to mention those to my immediate vicinity. 99% of them have made recordings only in their respective countries and fewer in the region only.

Again, congratulations to the Youth of Chilean musicians.

Parla

Mr. Donut, there is not a single "equation". The artists I referred to belong to the recording industry of their respective country, are well-known in the media there and they enjoy a local reputation. Then, there is the "regional" equation, where few can make it and there is the "global" one, where all these artists, who cannot escape from their local media and recording industry, they remain "unsung heroes" for the rest of the world and the rest of their lives.

Parla

Indeed a heart-warming performance Oscar! No wonder it fills you with pride!

I have a question for you Oscar, and even more so for Parla. At a time when musicand the arts in general are being pushed more to the periphery of the education system in the UK, I'm interested to know to what extent music plays a major and/or increasing role in education in the triangle China-Japan-South Korea, and in latin America.  I'm sure we only see the tip of the iceberg in Europe but there are already an astonishing number of superb young musicians emerging from Asian countries.  What is behind this? Has there been a big increase in educational funding for music in Asia?

I remember when I was working in Japan some years ago noting the very highly competitive nature of the education system. To what extent does this apply to music, and do you think it encourages technical expertise at the expense of artistry? This always used to be the complaint about many young Asian musicians, but I get the feeling that things are changing.

I know much less (i.e. virtually nothing) about the situation in Chile, but the enthusiasm and musicianship of the players in the video clip were a joy for all to see.

Perhaps it's time for the North-West corner of the world to start taking more seriously the other three-quarters!

Chris

Thanks for that Parla. Interesting.

A couple of comments/questions.

As far as education is concerned, I was thinking particularly about the opportunities for really young children to play an instrument, as well as the balance between opportunity and pressure. The former is arguably essential, too much of the latter may contribute to the technical expertise syndrome?

Interesting in this context that you note the relative dearth of chamber music groups. 

Certainly one sees an increasing number of Asian players (mainly string players) in European orchestras and, consistent with what you say, most of these are women.

I wonder will we see the emergence of top class conductors?

Chris

To respond to your comments/questions, Chris:

- Yes, there is enough opportunities for young people to study instruments or take any other sort of musical education, since there is a good allocation of money both in the public and private sectors.

- Pressure is an apparent factor, since there is a stiff competition among plenty of students and the need to come out to the stage as soon as they (or the establishment) may be or feel ready.

- There are wonderful and even some brilliant conductors, but, as with almost all the other musicians of the region, they are destined to stay here, unless they migrate. Then, the rest of the world may get to know their artistry (e.g. Ozawa, Nagano, and for some years in the West the Korean Chung). By the way, there are quite a few female conductors too! The Korean cellist Han Na Chang (one of the migrating birds) is making a second career as conductor. I attended a very ambitious concert she gave recently in the region with Shostkovich's 8th as the culminating work of the program. She was stunning in terms of precision and technical integrity. She still needs some maturity in the interpretation field. However, performing almost perfectly such a work, at such a young age (she is only 30), was already a huge task.

Finally, there is plenty of room for foreign musicians to work in the region, but they have to adapt themselves to the situation and the local conditions (dealing with difficult and completely unknown languages, different habits,  norms, etc.).

Parla

Thanks for coming back to me on that Oscar. Times are changing.

Incidentally, the Bayreuth Parsifal mentioned by Jane elsewhere has the fine Korean bass Kwangchul Youn as Gurnemanz, and another Korean bass, Samuel Youn (related?) in one of the minor roles.  I still haven't managed to listen right through though, internet speed has been very slow this weekend.

I'll listen to the Bruckner with the Chilean Youth Orchestra as soon as the connection improves. I always think Bruckner should pose the greatest problems for young players, and yet I still rememember an explosive performance of the 8th Symphony at the Proms with the European Community Youth Otchestra and Haitink.  The exuberence of the players drew Haitink out of his normal restrained way but he held also them in check. The outcome was unforgettable!

Chris