was a neo-classical Japanese composer who specialized in string quartets. He performed both as cellist and clarinetist.

Biography

He was born in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

in a military family, and became interested in the violin during a stay in Tokyo. From 1929 he attended

Tokyo Music School or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

, where he studied cello under Heinrich Werkmeister (1883–1936), who had moved to Japan in 1907, and studied composition under the conductor

Klaus Pringsheim Sr. Klaus Pringsheim Sr. (24 July 1883 – 7 December 1972) was a German-born composer, conductor, music-educator and the twin brother of Katharina "Katia" Pringsheim, who married Thomas Mann in 1905. Biography Pringsheim was the son of mathemat ...

(a former pupil of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

) who had been invited to Tokyo in 1931 to become a professor of music at the

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

. From 1937 he studied with

Joseph Rosenstock Joseph Rosenstock (, ; in Kraków in New York City) was an American conductor. Career Early years He worked at the State Theatre in Darmstadt, where, on , he conducted ''Hagith'' by Karol Szymanowski, and at the State Opera in Wiesbaden, w ...

. In 1942, he had his first success with the premiere of the ''Cello Concerto'', which he had completed five years before. However, in 1944 he was conscripted into the Navy. After the war, he became involved in broadcasting and co-founded the five-member ''Chijinkai'' (Earth-Human Association), which gave six concerts between 1949 and 1955. Between 1948 and 1954, he was the director of the Imperial orchestra. Although this orchestra usually performed Western music, many of its members had played traditional court music and thus, Abe learnt in detail about the ''

gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794-1185) around t ...

'' style. His compositions include two symphonies, fifteen string quartets, and concertos for piano and cello.

Selected works

Orchestral works

* 1935 ''Kleine Suite'', for orchestra * 1937 ''Concerto'', for cello and orchestra * 1953-1957 ''Symphony No. 1'' *# Allegro con brio *# Adagietto *# Vivace assai * 1960 ''

Divertimento ''Divertimento'' (; from the Italian '' divertire'' "to amuse") is a musical genre, with most of its examples from the 18th century. The mood of the ''divertimento'' is most often lighthearted (as a result of being played at social functions) and ...

'', for alto saxophone and orchestra *# Andante sostenuto *# Adagietto *# Allegro * 1960 ''Symphony No. 2'' * 1964 ''Sinfonietta'', for orchestra *# Allegro con brio *# Moderato *# Scherzo: Andante - Presto *# Finale: Allegro assai * 1985 ''Piccola sinfonia for strings''

Theatre

* ''Jungle Drum'', ballet choreographed by Michio Ito (1893-1961)

Chamber music

* 1935 ''String quartet No. 1'' * 1937 ''String quartet No. 2'' * 1940 ''String quartet No. 3'' * 1942 ''String quartet No. 4'' * 1942 ''Sonata No. 1'', for flute and piano * 1946 ''Clarinet quintet'' * 1948 ''String quartet No. 5'' * 1948 ''String quartet No. 6'' * 1950 ''String quartet No. 7'' * 1951 ''Divertimento'', for alto saxophone and piano * 1952 ''String quartet No. 8'' * 1956 ''String quartet No. 9'' * 1978 ''String quartet No. 10'' * 1982 ''String quartet No. 11'' * 1988 ''String quartet No. 12'' * 1989 ''String quartet No. 13'' * 1991 ''String quartet No. 14'' * 1993 ''String quartet No. 15''

Music for children

* 1972 ''3 Sonatinas for children'' * 1986 ''Easy piano pieces for children: "Dreamland"'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Komei 1911 births 2006 deaths 20th-century cellists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Japanese composers 20th-century Japanese male musicians Imperial Japanese Navy personnel of World War II Japanese classical cellists Japanese classical clarinetists Japanese classical composers Japanese male classical composers Musicians from Hiroshima