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Paper short abstract

This paper discusses how Japanese music societies focused on Finnish music operate in the field of classical music in Japan. The study challenges the monolithic East-West dichotomy and the power relation it implies, as the promotion of Finnish music has been seen more as equal cultural exchange.

Paper long abstract

Our paper explores the role of societies dedicated to Western classical music in Japan through the lens of bilateral exchange. While Western art music is often framed as global and universal, organizations focusing on specific national relationships challenge this perception. In Japan, there are a few dozen music associations dedicated to individual Western composers. The number of their members ranges from a few dozen to a few hundred.

Our case study specifically focuses on musical exchange between Japan and Finland. Since the introduction of Jean Sibelius’ music to Japan in 1913, various associations and ensembles have been established to promote musical exchange between Finland and Japan. Prominent examples include the Japan Sibelius Society, founded in 1984 by the influential conductor Watanabe Akeo and others, and the Japan-Finland Contemporary Music Society, founded in 2010 by internationally renowned composer Ichiyanagi Toshi. Both aim to foster not only musical but also broader cultural ties.

What cultural functions do such societies serve in Japan? We address this question by analyzing the activities of the two societies and interviewing their members. We are particularly interested in understanding how they view their role in shaping Japan’s scene of Western art music by connecting Finland and Japan. Currently, conductor Nitta Yuri serves as chair of both the Sibelius Society and the JFCMS, and she also conducts the Ainola Orchestra, which performs Sibelius's music. The membership of both music societies consists partly of musicians with connections to Finland and partly of amateurs interested in Finnish culture and music. We are using a survey to find out what factors are most important in members' decision to join a music society and what benefits they feel to gain from belonging to a society.

Through this inquiry, we question the conventional and monolithic East–West dichotomy and instead foreground the more specific cultural dynamics in musical exchange between two individual countries often still viewed as “peripheral” in dominant narratives of Western art music.