was a Japanese classical composer. His works include five symphonies,

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s, a flute sonata, a

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

, choral work and

art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...

s, and the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, '' Prince Arima''. His work took strong influence from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. His best-known works include the film score ''

Matango is a 1963 Japanese horror film directed by Ishirō Honda. The film stars Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno and Kenji Sahara. It is partially based on William Hope Hodgson's short story "The Voice in the Night" and is about a group of castaways on an is ...

'' (1963).

Major works

Operas

* ''A Story of Three Women (Le dit des trois femmes)'' (1964) * ''有間皇子 (Prince Arima (Arima-no Miko))'' (1963–67) * ''Aoi-no-ue''

Orchestral works

* ''Deux mouvements pour orchestre'' (1946) * ''Suite classique'' (1947) * ''Introduction et Allegro'' (1954) * ''Deux prières'' (1956) * ''Symphonietta for String Orchestra'' (1959) * ''Symphony No. 1'' (1961) * ''Concerto pour violon et orchestre'' (1969) * ''Concerto pour alto et orchestre'' (1971) * ''Symphony No. 2'' (1977) * ''Concerto pour piano et orchestre'' (1980) * ''Festival Overture'' (1981) * ''Symphony No. 3 "Spring"'' (1984) * ''Memories of Pictures'': Suite for Wind Band (1987/2005) * ''March "Be Pure, Be Fresh"'' for wind orchestra (1988) * ''Symphony No. 4 "The Summer 1945"'' (1989) * ''Concerto pour violoncelle et orchestre "Autumn"'' (1997) * ''Symphony No. 5 "Man"'' (1999)

Chamber works

* ''Trio d'anches'' for bassoon, oboe and clarinet (1953) * ''Sonate pour flûte et piano'' (1954) * ''Suite japonaise Nr. 1'' for wind quintet (1955) * ''Quatuor à cordes Nr. 1'' (1955–57) * ''1er sonate pour violon et piano'' (1963–67) * ''Sonate pour violoncelle et piano'' (1974) * ''Aubade'' for flute, violin and piano (1976) * ''Suite "Chants de ville"'' for alto saxophone and piano (1981) * ''Petit pastoral'' for flute and piano (1983) * ''《Hide and Seek》 and 《Tag》: Two Players for Two Marimbas'' (1988) * ''Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano'' (1995) * ''Kaleidoscope No. 2'' for marimba (2002) * ''Autumn'' for violoncello and piano (2004)

Piano works

* ''Sonatine'' (1965) * ''Suite "Kaleidescope"'' (1966) * ''Three Paraphrases Based on Folksongs of Southern Japan'' (1968) * ''Sonatine in Classical Style'' (1969) * ''Festa in the north: Japanese Suite No. 2'' for piano by 4 hands (1989)

Vocal works

* ''Light-coloured Pictures'' for voice and piano (1948) * ''2 Rondels'' for voice and piano (1951) * ''Three Songs Based Man-yō-shū poems'' (1958) * ''Giant's Garden'' for narrator, mixed choir, orchestra and electronic sound (1962) * ''The Four Seasons of the Mountain'' for mixed choir (1967)

Film music

Bekku composed about 40 film scores from 1954 to 1978.''Ongaku Geijutsu Bessatsu Nihon no sakkyoku 20-seiki''. Tokyo: Ongaku-no-tomo-sha, 1999. * '' Ghost of Hanging in Utusunomiya'' aka '' The Ceiling at Utsunomiya'' (怪異宇都宮釣天井 Kaii Utsunomiya tsuritenjō) (1956) * 姫君剣法　謎の紫頭巾 (1957) * 日本南極地域観測隊の記録　南極大陸 (1957) * 南極大陸 (1957) * 天下の鬼夜叉姫 (1957) * (遙かなる男 Shizukanaru otoko) (1957) literally: ''The Quiet Man'' * (太平洋戦記 Taiheiyō senki) (1958) * 密告者は誰か (1958) * 黒部侠谷　第二部　地底の凱歌 (1959) * ''

'' (マタンゴ) (1963) aka ''Attack of the Mushroom People'' * 恐怖の時間 (1964) * '' White Rose of Hong Kong'' (香港の白い薔薇 Honkon no shiroibara)(1965) * '' Key of Keys'' (国際秘密警察　鍵の鍵 Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi) (1965) literally: '' International Secret Police: Key of Keys'' * (国際秘密警察　絶体絶命 Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Zettai zetsumi) (1967) * (ニイタカヤマノボレ　−日本帝国の崩壊−

Niitakayama nobore Yu Shan or Yushan, also known as Mount Jade, Jade Mountain, or , and known as Mount Niitaka during Japanese rule, is the highest mountain in Taiwan at above sea level, giving Taiwan the 4th-highest maximum elevation of any island in the ...

) (1968) * (喜劇　駅前開運 Kigeki ekimae kaiun) (1968)

References

* Yoko Narasaki ed. ''Orchestral Works by Japanese Composers 1912-1992''. Tokyo: Japan Symphony Foundation, 1994.

External links

*
Sadao Bekku's profile
with

* *

E World Japan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bekku, Sadao 1922 births 2012 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Japan Japanese classical composers Japanese film score composers Japanese male classical composers Japanese male film score composers Japanese opera composers Male opera composers Pupils of Darius Milhaud