ESEA Lecture Series -  2024

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The New 'Yellow Peril' in Western European Symphony Orchestras

by Dr. Maiko Kawabata, Open University & Royal College of Music

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Abstract 

The ‘Yellow Peril’ – a term referring to the historical racist phobia of invasion by foreigners, specifically East Asians – also describes a current problem among professional Western European orchestras. My interviews with ethnically Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese musicians reveal that bullying, microaggressions, and discrimination occur in a range of settings from conservatoires to auditions, rehearsals, concerts, and tours. The reasons why the pervasive stereotypes of the soulless automaton or the perpetual outsider persist ultimately appear to be structural: the deeply entrenched Eurocentric hypocrisy that the ‘universal’ language of classical music belongs to an exclusive club. Acknowledging existing inequality is a necessary step if orchestras are to become truly more diverse and inclusive—changes that activism can help bring about. 

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This presentation is based on ‘The New “Yellow Peril” in European and British Symphony Orchestras’ in Voices for Change in the Classical Music Profession: New ideas for tackling inequalities and exclusions edited by Anna Bull and Christina Scharff with Associate Editor Laudan Nooshin (Oxford University Press, 2023), 159-171 and 329-331.

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Trigger warning: this presentation includes a racial slur and racist imagery that some viewers may find distressing. 

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Keywords: Yellow Peril, racism, orchestras, East Asian musicians, Western classical music