Gender Studies in Violin Playing

Abstract

Through my experience and study of the international violin world, it has become evident that there is an unconscious gender bias in violin playing and reception. My hypothesis is that because of this covert gender gap, masculine violin performance is unconsciously expected not only of male violinists but also of female, by audiences and musicians alike. This research exists to allow violinists to play without any of the inferiority complexes caused by history and culture in which the performance does not follow the stereotype of the masculine, to liberate people who feel inconvenienced both technically and musically because of the public image of ‘masculine’.

This thesis consists of five dimensions: interviews of professional violinists, a gender impression study, a ‘performance style chart, comparison reviews between ones in Japan and the UK and self-analysis.

The first section is a summary of interviews with 14 professional violinists, across a range of age, position, and geography, exploring beliefs and experiences around gender issues. The interviewees are asked about their educational backgrounds, violin-school genealogy, self-awareness, professional (performance/teaching) experiences, and repertoire choices. Those interview questions attempt to find what common components form players recognition of gendered words/ideas/thoughts.

The second section introduces the results of a survey related to a performance video portfolio, covering two violin sonatas by Beethoven and Koda. These footages include both repertoires with the images of a violinist in ‘male’ and ‘female’ costumes but with the sound remixed with the same audio. The questionnaire examines what elements people find masculine or feminine in violin performance.

A physical analysis of violin performance is shown in the third section. Based on analysis of 50 male and 50 female violinists, a flow chart of 6 categories of violin performance style is formed, to support learning and teaching violin playing with deep understanding of players’ individual characteristics.

The fourth section compares the cultural background of Japan with the UK. Considering the context of the western classical music in Japan, it is impossible to think about the environment for musicians without understanding that: Japan has a short history of western classical music, and it was imported to Japan from overseas. To know the reason of the gap of general idea on musicians’ gender matter between people in Japan and the UK, I do two projects in this chapter: the study of customs, statistics, and clothing of musicians in Japan, and the concert review comparison of specific musicians from Japan and the UK who lived in the same time - Nobu Koda (1870-1946) and Marjorie Hayward (1885-1953).

My autoethnographic analysis is described in the fifth section. There are three approaches to dig into myself: the interview of me by someone, interview sessions with my students, and video analysis based on the categorise system which I made in the past section.

This research also exists to protect my own basic attitude as a musician. It is my wish that this research allows for release from issues confronting performers, especially the people who are troubled by the gap between one’s ideal and the reality of the body, and who thus have dilemmas around the differences between the physical potential of teachers or friends, and themselves.

In my view, if there is any physical superiority in violin playing, it is not made by gender but individual differences. It is nonsensical to categorise someone’s performance style or way of expression through the gender identities of the players, but there are still many languages which confine players to particular genders. Through this research, my understanding of gendered words has changed. Previously, I had used this type of vocabulary a great deal and I thought it was a permanent element in our lives. Now I believe that the characteristics which those words attempt to explain impose gender roles, and I have become unable to use those gendered words in my general life. It is my hope that my thesis helps in the fight against gender consciousness in our minds and in society, especially in the relationship between gender and violin playing.

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Bio

Highly acclaimed Japanese Violinist Maho Harada receives international recognition for her integrity in music expression and diverse repertoire choices, including female and Japanese composers.

Maho performs across the UK, Europe, and Japan. As a soloist, she has had recitals in various locations such as Southwark Cathedral in 2018 and the Embassy of Japan in the UK in 2022. She has also appeared in music festivals such as Lake District Summer Music (UK), the International Music Festival of Portogruaro (Italy), and the Académie musicale de Villecroze (France).

Maho graduated from the music school attached to the Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts in 2012, continuing her studies at the university. She finished her BMus in March 2016, and received the Doseikai prize from the alumni association of the university upon graduating.

Supported by the Edna Seabright Memorial Prize and the Leverhulme Trust Postgraduate Scholarship, Maho completed her MA in Music Performance at the Royal Academy of Music. She also received a Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music for an outstanding final recital and the Doris Faulkener Prize for her general achievement throughout the academic year. Greatly interested in gender studies and the violin playing style, Maho entered the Academy postgraduate department in 2018 to study this further.

She was awarded the first prize at the 12th Osaka International Music Competition in 2011, as well as the Special Jury Award at the 10th Competition of Contemporary Music Performance 'Kyogaku X' in Japan in 2012.