Stylistic and semiotic analysis of modern Chinese piano performance

Abstract The aim of this study is to conduct a comprehensive stylistic and semiotic analysis of contemporary Chinese piano performance to identify its distinctive characteristics, cultural influences, and artistic significance. A total of 60 Chinese pianists – categorized according to their affiliation with the Beijing conservative school, the Shanghai modernist-synthetic school, the diaspora, and postmodern innovators – and 60 Western performers (German-Austrian tradition, n = 20; Russian pedagogy, n = 15; American eclecticism, n = 15; specialists in Asian repertoire, n = 10) participated in a ten-week intercultural pedagogical project. Performance recordings obtained before and after the intervention were evaluated by expert raters using a 10-point scale across five dimensions: technical proficiency, musicality, interpretative depth, emotional expressiveness, and stage presence. Interrater reliability exceeded the accepted threshold (ICC > 0.85). In addition, participants completed questionnaires developed using a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. A survey of 60 Western pianists highlighted high evaluations of Chinese performers in intercultural exchange (4.10 out of 5), technical proficiency (4.05), and influence on competition culture (4.00). The study’s results indicate that Chinese pianists excel in technical proficiency (8.5 vs. 8.3) but lag behind in musicality (8.2 vs. 8.6), interpretation (7.9 vs. 8.4), and emotional expressiveness (7.7 vs. 8.5) compared to their Western counterparts. This research contributes significantly to understanding current trends in global piano artistry and outlines prospects for further study of the interaction between different performance schools.