Teizo Matsumura (松村禎三 ''Matsumura Teizō''; 15 January 1929 – 6 August 2007) was a Japanese

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

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. Orphaned and suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, during his recovery in the early 1950s he began to write both

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...

and music. He studied with Tomojiro Ikenouchi and

Akira Ifukube was a Japanese classical and film music composer, best known for his works on the ''Godzilla'' franchise. Biography Early years in Hokkaido Akira Ifukube was born on 31 May 1914 in Kushiro, Japan as the third son of a police officer Toshimi ...

. He was influenced by

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

and

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, but also Asian traditions. He was Professor Emeritus of 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 ...

. Matsumura is best known for his opera ''Chinmoku'' (in English Silence) based on the novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo. This has been recorded. Matsumura is the recipient of the 1974 UNESCO

International Rostrum of Composers The International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music. It is funded by c ...

and of the 1978

Suntory Music Award The , previously known as the , designed to promote Western music in Japan, has been given by the Suntory Music Foundation since their establishment in 1969. The award is presented annually to individuals or groups for the greatest achievement in ...

Major works

*''Achime'' for soprano, percussion and 11 players (1957) *''Cryptogame'' for instrumental ensemble (1958) *''Musique pour quatuor à cordes et pianoforte'' (1962) * Symphony No. 1 (1965) *''Prélude pour orchestre'' (1968) *''Aprasas'' for female chorus with 2 harps, piano, harpsichord, celesta and string orchestra (1969) *''Totem Ritual'' for mixed chorus with 8 percussions, piano, harpsichord and orchestra (1969) *''Deux berceuses à la Grèce'' for piano (1969) *''Poème I'' for shakuhachi and koto (1969) *''Courtyard of Apsaras'' for flute, violin and piano (1971) *''Poème II'' for shakuhachi solo (1972) *''Two Poems by the Prince of Karu'' for soprano and piano (1973) * Piano Concerto No. 1 (1973) * Piano Concerto No. 2 (1978) *''Hymn to Aurora'' for mixed chorus with cello, harp, percussion, piano, organ and oboe d'amore (1978) * Fantasy for thirteen-string koto solo (1980) * Cello Concerto (Concerto per violoncello ed orchestra) (1984) *''Air of Prayer'' for seventeen-string koto solo (1984) *''Air of Prayer'' for cello solo (1985) *''Pneuma'' for strings (1986) *''Trio pour violon, violoncelle et piano'' (1986) *''Homage to Akira Ifukube'' for orchestra (1988) *''Silence'', opera (1993) * Nocturne for harp solo (1994) *''Quatuor à cordes'' (1996) *''Poor Faithful'' for voice and piano (1996) * Symphony No. 2 (1998) *''Pilgrimage I - III'' for piano (1999-2000) *''To the Night of Gethsemane'' for orchestra (2002)

Film score

*''100 Gamblers'' (1969) *''

Apart from Life ''Apart from Life'' ( ja, 地の群れ, translit. Chi no mure) is a 1970 Japanese drama film directed by Kei Kumai. It was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Mizuho Suzuki as Unami * Hiroko Kino as Noriko F ...

'' (1970) *''Sea and Poison'' (1985) * ''Sen no Rikyu'' (The Dead of a Tea Master) (1989) *''Pickpocket'' (2000) *''Darkness in the Light'' (2001) *'' A Boy's Summer in 1945'' (2002) *''

The Face of Jizo is a Japanese play written by Hisashi Inoue. Plays * It was performed by Komatsuza as their 34th Play, from September 3 to 18, 1994, directed by Hitoshi Uyama, starring by Masayo Umezawa and Kei Suma. It has been performed frequently not o ...

'' (2004)

External links

Biography
- Documentary Box (Interviewer: Kitakoji Takashi) 1935 births 2007 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Japanese composers 20th-century Japanese male musicians 20th-century Japanese poets 21st-century classical composers 21st-century Japanese composers 21st-century Japanese poets 21st-century Japanese male musicians Japanese classical composers Japanese film score composers Japanese male classical composers Japanese male film score composers Japanese opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Kyoto {{Japan-composer-stub