Comparison of the aesthetics of chamber music of China and the West

Abstract

Chamber music attracts the audience with its wide range, diverse sounds, and rich expressiveness. Even if it is still the same chamber music, the influence of geography, ethnicity, and culture, styles and varieties of Chinese and Western chamber music are widely different. By comparing pieces of Chinese chamber music with the Western chamber music, one can find out that Chinese chamber music focuses on the expression of the artistic concept through the melody, while the Western chamber music gives more attention to logic and festive genres. Within the Chinese musical aesthetics, influenced by Laozi’s Tao Te Ching, there’s an idea that «music has in it neither grief nor joy», saying that music itself is not emotional, and is objective, it is just an incentive and an instrument of emotions. In Western countries, the art of music gives attention to the technique, and considers music as a real and important substance, and tends to a more «autonomous» point of view. The authors of this research give special attention to the analysis of aesthetic differences between Chinese and Western music, as well as creative differences caused by the influence of aesthetic differences. In view of these facts the authors formulate the conclusion that the music of China and the West should be compared based on the ideas about aesthetics and their detailed analysis. The authors consider the typical features and characteristics of the music aesthetics of the West and China, their diversity and influence on the creative work in chamber music, hold a comparative research, and offer new models and directions of development. The main theme of traditional Chinese chamber music is poetry, and the arrangement is more free, and focuses on conveying the artistic idea. The Western chamber music has a strict creative routine, and gives more attention to the characteristics of music itself.