Japanese Composers

In February of 1962 Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996) completed the music for the film Otoshiana, also known in English as Pitfall or Cheap, Sweet and a Kid, or as its alternative Japanese name Kashi to Kodomo. As a film director Hiroshi Teshigahara’s (1927 – 2001) first full length film, a documentary fantasy, it was the first Japanese movie to be distributed by Art Theater Guild, a network supporting independent cinema from the year 1961 onwards.　

Otoshiana’s music is based on the material from a cembalo and 2 pianos, one prepared piano and one employed for inside-piano techniques. Considered as the first work in which Takemitsu applied prepared piano, it is an interesting example showing Takemitsu’s tendency of creating new sounds using various techniques. The work as well brings out the importance of his collaborations with other Japanese avant-garde composers like Toshi Ichiyanagi and Yūji Takahashi. 


Through an author’s recent interview with Yūji Takahashi (19 February, 2011), we will be able to picture the 1960’s art atmosphere and look inside the Otoshiana making. The interview reveals the points which have not been discussed until now on Otoshiana: what kind of instruments they used, the techniques they applied, the roles each of the musicians had in the work, as well as Takahashi’s reflection on Otoshiana’s music and its period.

First published in the April 1956 issue of the magazine ‘Ongaku Geijutsu’ (The Art of Music), and drawing heavily on two German texts from 1954 that had been unofficially translated into Japanese, composer and electronic music pioneer Toshiro Mayuzumi presents an overview of electronic music divided into four sections: (1) a historical perspective positioning electronic music as developing from twelve-tone compositional techniques; (2) a brief history and overview of activities of the Cologne Electronic Music Studio; (3) an overview of the techniques of electronic music, including an account of Mayuzumi’s first experimental electronic music composition, ‘Music for Sine Waves by Sequences of Prime Number Ratios’ (1955) composed at the NHK studio in Tokyo; and (4) some of the composer’s own thoughts on the tasks and future of electronic music. This article appears here translated into English for the first time.

A free eprint of this translation is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/y8Z4sNZGu4gdTUTR3HU2/full

Program note for Toshiro Mayuzumi's contribution to the serial electronic work, 'Shichi no Variation' ('Variations of 7', or '7 Variations'), a collaboration with fellow Japanese composer Makoto Moroi carried out at the NHK electronic music studio in 1956. Here, Mayuzumi describes the structure of the seventh and longest variation, the sound sources and techniques used, and his general thoughts regarding electronic music. First published as a program note to the concert 'An Evening of Contemporary Music, No. 1: Ars Nova' at the Dai-ichi Semei Hall in Tokyo on March 28, 1957, this text appears here translated into English for the first time.

A free eprint of this translation is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/Fyc5GwhJeGmYyJWR9zpr/full

""This well researched volume tells the story of music education in Japan and of the wind band contest organized by the All-Japan Band Association. Identified here for the first time as the world’s largest musical competition, it attracts 14,000 bands and well over 500,000 competitors. The book’s insightful contribution to our understanding of both music and education chronicles music learning in Japanese schools and communities. It examines the contest from a range of perspectives, including those of policy makers, adjudicators, conductors and young musicians. The book is an illuminating window on the world of Japanese wind bands, a unique hybrid tradition that comingles contemporary western idioms with traditional Japanese influences. In addition to its social history of Japanese school music programs, it shows how participation in Japanese school bands contributes to students’ sense of identity, and sheds new light on the process of learning to play European orchestral instruments. Content Level » Research David G. Hebert, PhD is a Professor of Music with the Grieg Academy, Bergen University College, Norway. He previously held academic positions with universities in the USA, Japan, Finland, Russia, and New Zealand, and has directed (or currently directs) music research projects on 6 continents. Widely published and cited as a scholar of global music education, he is chair of the Historical Ethnomusicology special interest group of the Society for Ethnomusicology. Keywords » All-Japan Band Association - European orchestral instruments - Japanese composers - Japanese influences - Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra - Yamaha - japanese schools - music education - wind bands - young musicians Foreword (by Bonnie Wade).- Part I: A social history of wind bands in Japanese schools. Chapter 1: Introduction: The world’s finest school bands and largest music competition.- Chapter 2: Where are these bands from?: An historical overview.- Part II: An ethnography of wind bands in Japanese schools. Chapter 3: An invitation to the Tokyo middle school.- Chapter 4: The band rehearsal ritual and its participants.- Chapter 5: Instruction in the Japanese school band.- Chapter 6: Scenes from the 50th AJBA national band competition.- Chapter 7: Winning in the band: Views from beneath and within.- Chapter 8: Winning in the band: Views from above and beyond.- Chapter 9: Japanese composers and wind band repertoire.- Chapter 10: Leadership and duty in the ensemble.- Chapter 11: Cooperative learning and mentorship in band.- Chapter 12: Organizational training of the Japanese band director.- Chapter 13: Corporate giants: Yamaha and the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.- Chapter 14: Metaphors of a Japanese band community.- Chapter 15: Musical identity in the band: Social class and gender.- Chapter 16: National identity in the Japanese school band.- Chapter 17: Ensemble ethos: Theorizing cultures of musical achievement.- Chapter 18: Conclusions.- Afterword.- Glossary.- Index""

The author examines the study and implementation of serial electronic music techniques of the Cologne School—specifically those Karlheinz Stockhausen employed in his 'Studie I & II' (1953/54)—by Japanese electronic music pioneer Toshiro Mayuzumi through his works 'Music for Sine Waves by Sequences of Prime Number Ratios' (1955) and, in collaboration with Makoto Moroi, '7 Variations' (1956), both realized at the NHK Electronic Music Studio. Mayuzumi's account of 'Music for Sine Waves' in his essay 'The Principles of Electronic Music' is cross-examined with Stockhausen's account of 'Studie I' in his essay 'Komposition 1953 Nr. 2'; while technical details from Mayuzumi's program note and Moroi's essay about '7 Variations' are compared with those in Stockhausen's score for 'Studie II'. Attention is also given to Mayuzumi's own assessment of the works and his ultimate abandonment of electronic music composition.

A free eprint of this paper is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/U5XGIJjXhjzYgHxDgh4f/full