Articles of East Asian classical musicians have been common in the European classical music magazines since East Asians began increasingly winning international music competitions and pursue international careers somewhere towards the end of the 20th century. The field of Western classical music is becoming more international at a time when fear of the dying of classical music has also reached the headlines in Europe. East Asian musicians work in a complex cultural field where their musicianship is constantly evaluated from different premises. The aim of this study is to see how the East Asian classical musicians and their cultural identities are represented in three European classical music magazines, Crescendo, Gramophone, and Rondo during the years 2002‒2011. This is achieved through first analysing the themes, attitudes and actors of the articles by using quantitative content analysis. Discourse analytical framework is used as a main method to illustrate four different representations of East Asian classical musicians ‒ the Invader, the Asian, the Virtuoso, and the Bridge Builder. The East Asian classical musicians are seen as different, yet not exotic. Their difference is brought up in emphasising their nationality and ethnicity in places where this knowledge is not necessary for the context. Further, the East Asian musicians are often seen as bridge builders between Eastern and Western culture. The stereotype of techno-orientalism relating to the virtuosity of the musicians is brought up in discourse but is, at the same time, announced outdated. The general context, the East Asian classical music phenomenon, is described using military and warlike terms. The findings indicate that the story of Western classical music is still seen as inherently Western and that East Asian classical musicians still have work to do in becoming main actors in the story alongside their European and American colleagues.