Piano, Performance, Politics: The World of Piano Competitions in Increasingly Global Scales

A musician will be told this hackneyed phrase consistently throughout his or her career: the classical music industry is dying. At first glance, this appears to be true. Electronic dance music and rap seem to be one of the few genres appealing to mass audience, and the majority of people cannot name more than eight classical musicians. However, a staggering statistic arises deep within the classical music world: international piano competitions are increasing at a staggering rate, and more and more aspiring pianists continue to strive toward glory in the competitive field. Musicians- competitors and judges alike- span the globe to participate in competitions that are the pride of the country in which they take place. Unlike one might expect, the piano competition world is alive with criticism, politics, prejudice, and bias. Running parallel to this are trends that cannot be ignored: China, Russia, and the United States rise as top winners in modernity. Simultaneously, those same countries are now extremely politically influential around the world. This research proposal seeks to find possible explanations for this geo-specific patterns as well as faults and merits of the powerful industry