was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and the brother of composer

Maki Ishii was a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music, and brother of composer Kan Ishii. Biography Born in Tokyo, Ishii studied composition privately (with Akira Ifukube and Tomojiro Ikenouchi) and conducting with Akeo Watanabe from 1952 ...

. His father, was a prominent Japanese ballet dancer. His ''Symphonia Ainu'' won a prize at the 1958 Art Festival, inspiring him to do further work inspired by nationalist primitivism. His musical style appeals directly to the emotions, and shows the influence of

Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata ''Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Car ...

. In addition to orchestral and vocal music, he has written extensively for the stage, including 6 operas, 3 ballets and 9 film scores, including the 1962 science-fiction film ''

Gorath is a 1962 Japanese epic science fiction disaster film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Based on an idea by Jojiro Okami, the film is about mankind's efforts to move Earth out of its orbit to prevent it from ...

''. Ishii accepted a position as professor at Shōwa College of Music in 1986.

Selected works

*''Marimo'' (ballet) *''Sinfonia Ainu'' for soprano, chorus and orchestra *''Suite from Marimo'' for orchestra *''Going in a Wide Plain'' for wind orchestra *''Music for Percussions by Eight Players'' *''Sonata'' for viola and piano (1962) *''Preludes'' for piano *''The Music for Flute'' (flute solo) *''Songs of a Withered Tree and the Sun'' for male chorus and piano *''Japanese Folk Songs'' for voice and piano *''

'' (film score)

References

*Kanazawa, Masakata. "Kan Ishii", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', ed. L. Macy (accessed 20 May 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). * 1921 births 2009 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Japanese composers 20th-century Japanese male musicians Deaths from pneumonia in Japan Japanese classical composers Japanese male classical composers Musicians from Tokyo {{Japan-composer-stub