Yasushi Akutagawa

Yasushi Akutagawa (Japanese芥 川 也 寸 志, born July 12, 1925 in Tabata, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan, † 31 January 1989) was a Japanese composer.

Life

He was the third and last son of the writer Akutagawa Ryunosuke and learned theory of composition at Kunihiko Hashimoto and Akira Ifukube at the Tokyo Music School (now the Institute of Musicology of the University ). Together with his friends Dan Ikuma and Mayuzumi Toshirō founded the group Sannin no kai ( The Three ).

He entered the Soviet Union in 1954 illegally, where Japan had no diplomatic relations, and won the friendship of Shostakovich, Khachaturian and Kabalevsky. He was the only Japanese composer whose works have been officially released in the Soviet Union.

His works were influenced by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Ifukube.

He was also known as a presenter of television shows. As an educator, the training of amateur orchestra Shin Kogyo Gakudan dedicated ( " The New Symphony Orchestra ").

In 1978, his best music of the Japanese Academy Award was awarded in the category.

After his death, the Akutagawa composition award was established in his memory in 1990.

Works

Discography (selection)

• Préludes pour orchester symphonique (1947 )
• Trinita sinfonica for Orchestra ( 1948)
• La danse for piano (1948 )
• Musica per orchestra sinfonica (music for symphonic orchestra) (1950 )
• Ballade for Violin and Piano (1951 )
• Triptyque for String Orchestra ( 1953)
• Prima sinfonia (1954 /55)
• Ellora Symphony (1958 )
• Opera " L' Orphee de Hiroshima ( Orpheus in Hiroshima ) " (1960 /67)
• Music for Strings no 1 (1962 )
• Ballet Suite "The Spider Web" (1968 )
• Ostinato Concerto for cello and orchestra (1969 )
• Rapsodia per orchestra (1971 )
• 24 Preludes for piano (1979 )
• Allegro ostinato for Orchestra ( 1986)
• Sounds for Organ and Orchestra ( 1986)

Filmography (selection)

• The Gates of Hell (1953 )
• Kagi (1959 )
• Nobi (1959 )