Yasunshi Akutagawa Memorial Orchestra Nipponica

Concert Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Yásun Akutagawa
The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer Yasushi Akutagawa (b. 1925 - d. 1989). During his lifetime, Akutagawa was one of Japan's leading composers of the postwar era, and was spectacularly active in creative and conducting activities. Akutagawa also exerted a great influence on society and his time through his efforts in copyright protection activities, social movements such as "Musicians Against Nuclear Japan," preservation of the Sogakudo of the former Tokyo Music School, promotion of local music culture, promotion of music education, fostering amateur orchestras, performing Japanese symphonic works, and international cultural exchange with the former Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. He had a great impact on society and the times.
Thirty-five years after his death, those who directly witnessed his activities are now in their fifties or older, and his works are less known to those in their forties and younger. However, the many cultural and social issues that Akutagawa addressed half a century ago are issues that we still face and share today, even though we are in a different social phase.
For the 46th concert of Orchestra Nipponica, we have selected representative works from different periods of his life, different musical styles, and different techniques.
First, we will feature the dance suite "Spider's Thread," which expresses Akutagawa's reverence for his father, the great writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa, with its noisy sound and barbaric music, after Akutagawa lost his way in the experimental compositional techniques of his middle period. Next, Haruma Sato will play solo the "Concerto Ostinato" for cello and orchestra, which was the starting point for the ostinato technique and the humorous nature of Akutagawa's later works. Finally, the orchestra will perform "Symphony No. 1," a masterpiece of Akutagawa's early years and a requiem for the repose of his soul.
The orchestra will be conducted by Ichiro Nohira, Music Advisor of Orchestra Nipponica. Please look forward to the performance.