CULTURE

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He’s been snubbed by the government, by cultural conservatives and by fellow musicians—all for introducing foreign sounds to the Burmese soundscape.

 

 

The violin is believed to have first been used in Burma nearly a century and a half ago. But even in the 1960s, when Burma attempted to create a national symphony orchestra, the late former dictator Ne Win blasted Tin Yee’s music for being “fully westernized”, the musician recalls.

 

Today, recordings of Tin Yee’s violin concertos and his renditions of Burmese folk songs are among the small handful of symphony pieces by Burmese musicians available to the public.

 

“Today, violin is an international instrument,” Tin Yee explains. “Even at the state-sponsored music contests, violin and piano have been listed as national instruments.”

 

Similarly, the mandolin, Chinese lute, Hawaiian slide guitar and banjo are among the several foreign instruments that have become regular features of Burmese musical ensembles.