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 def ...
.
Biography
Irino was born in
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Vladivostok. He attended high school in Tokyo and went on to study
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
at
Tokyo Imperial University
The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
(now University of Tokyo).
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Irino, along with colleagues
Minao Shibata and Kunio Toda, studied the
twelve-tone method of composition devised by
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
. In 1951, Irino used the composition technique to compose his ''Concerto da Camera for Seven Instruments''. This work is credited to be the first Japanese dodecaphonic composition.
[『日本の作曲20世紀』（音楽之友社）142頁 an]
現代日本のオーケストラ音楽第28回演奏会 プログラム
/ref> During the same time, the magazine ''Ongaku Geijutsu'' published two articles by Irino: "Schoenberg's Composing Technique" and "What is Twelve-Tone Music?". Subsequently, Irino used the twelve-tone technique in numerous compositions and wrote extensively about contemporary music. Working to introduce foreign contemporary music and music literature to Japan, he made Japanese translations of important books such as ''Die Komposition mit zwölf Tönen'' (12音による作曲技法) by Josef Rufer
Josef Rufer (1893–1985) was an Austrian-born musicologist. He is regarded as a significant figure mainly on account of his association with and writings on Arnold Schoenberg.
Rufer was a pupil of Alexander von Zemlinsky and Schoenberg in Vi ...
and ''Schoenberg and His School'' (シェーンベルクとその楽派) by René Leibowitz
René Leibowitz (; ; 17 February 1913 – 29 August 1972) was a Polish and French composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher. He was historically significant in promoting the music of the Second Viennese School in Paris after the Second Wo ...
. Irino did not, however, compose serial music
In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...
, a technique of the same period widely used with the Darmstadt School.
In 1973, the Asian Composers League was established by Irino and his colleagues. After his death, the Irino Award and the Yoshiro Irino Memorial Prize (sponsored by the Asian Composers League) were established to promote young composers. Notable students include Kimi Sato.
Awards
*6th Mainichi Music Award for ''Sinfonietta'' (1953)
*6th Odaka Award for ''Concerto Grosso for Double String and Wind Orchestras'' (1957)
*8th Odaka Award for ''Symphonia'' (1959)
Works
Yoshirō Irino's music is mainly published by Zen-On Music Company Ltd, Ongaku No Tomo Sha,
Stage works
*, Music for the Noh Drama (1962)
Orchestra
*''Adagietto and Allegro Vivace'' (1949)
*''Sinfonietta'' for Small Orchestra (1953)
*''Ricercari'' for Small Orchestra (1954)
*''Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra'' (1955)
*''Concerto Grosso'' for Double String and Wind Orchestras (1957)
*''Symphonia'' (1959)
*''Concerto for String Orchestra'' (1960)
*''Music for Harpsichord, Percussion and 19 Strings'' (1963)
*''Symphonia No. 2'' (1964)
*''Theme and Variations'' (1967)
* for Two Shakuhachi
A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the . and Orchestra (1973)
Jazz band
*''Suite for Jazz Band'' (1960)
Chamber music
*''Sonata for Cello and Piano'' (1945)
*''String Quartet No. 1'' (1945)
*Sonatina for Flute and Piano (1946)
*''Piano Trio, Op. 4'' (1948)
*''String Sextet'' (1950)
*''Concerto da Camera for Seven Instruments'' (1951)
*''Quintet for Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet, Cello and Piano'' (1958)
*''Divertimento for Seven Winds'' (1958)
*''Music for Violin and Cello'' (1959)
*''Music for Vibraphone and Piano'' (1961)
*''Partita for Wind Quintet'' (1962)
*''String Trio'' (1965)
*''Three Movements for Two Kotos and Jūshichi-gen'' (1966)
*''Seven Inventions'' for Guitar and Six Players (1967)
*''Sonata for Violin and Piano'' (1967)
*''Duo concertante'' for Shakuhachi and Koto (1968)
*''Three Movements'' for Cello Solo (1969)
*''Sonata for Four Players'' (1970)
*''Trio for H.R.S. '70'' for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord (1970)
*''Globus I'' for Horn and Percussion (1971)
*''Suite for Viola Solo'' (1971)
*''Globus II'' for Marimba, Percussion and Double Bass (1971)
*''Strömung'' for Flute, Harp and Percussion (1973)
*''Globus III'' for Hichiriki
The is a double reed Japanese used as one of two main melodic instruments in music. It is one of the "sacred" instruments and is often heard at Shinto weddings in Japan. Its sound is often described as haunting.
The is derived from the Chin ...
, Violin, Cello Harp, Piano and Two Dancers (1975)
*''Klänge'' for Piano and Percussion (1976)
* for Marimba Solo (1977)
*''Cosmos'' for Shakuhachi, Two Sō (Koto), Violin, Piano and Percussion (1978)
Piano
*''Variations'' (1943)
*''Three Pieces'' (1958)
*''Music for Two Pianos'' (1963)
* (1967)
*''Three Little Pieces'' (1967–68)
*''Four Small Pieces'' (1969)
*''Piano Pieces for Children'' (1972–75)
Vocal
* (1959)
* for Mixed Chorus and Percussion (1960)
* (1966)
* for Soprano and Tenor with Harp and Harpsichord (1977)
Film music
* (1958)
* (1961)
* (1964); based on the novel by Yukio Mishima
Kimitake Hiraoka ( , ''Hiraoka Kimitake''; 14 January 192525 November 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima ( , ''Mishima Yukio''), was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Ultranationalism (Japan), ultranationalis ...
School songs
*Irino wrote school songs for about two dozen Japanese schools.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Yoshiro Irino Institute of Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irino, Yoshiro Vladimir
1921 births
1980 deaths
20th-century Japanese classical composers
20th-century Japanese male musicians
Japanese film score composers
Japanese male classical composers
Japanese male film score composers
Twelve-tone and serial composers
University of Tokyo alumni