Yasuo Kuwahara
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Yasuo Kuwahara (, Kuwahara Yasuo) (December 12, 1946 in
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
, Japan – December 6, 2003) was a Japanese mandolin player and composer for
mandolin orchestra A mandolin orchestra is an orchestra consisting primarily of instruments from the mandolin family of instruments, such as the mandolin, mandola, mandocello and mandobass or mandolone. Some mandolin orchestras use guitars and double-basses instead ...
. He was chairman of various musical institutions and organizations, including the ''
Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
National Women's College'', the ''Kuwahara Mandolin Institute'' and the ''Japan Association of Music Exchange''. In addition, he taught composition and artistic mandolin. After completing his studies with Professor Kinuko Hiruma, he became well known in Japan for his musical solo performances on the mandolin and outstanding technique. He made his European debut at a Zupfmusikfestival in Mannheim in 1982, and as a result, the European plucked-stringed orchestra circles became aware of him. After his performance in 1983 in Providence, USA, Yasuo Kuwahara was also known in North America. After that he won increasing worldwide recognition and fame for his playing and compositions, performing in his native Japan, as well as Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Russia and the United States of America. His compositions include works for the mandolin orchestra, as well as chamber ensembles and soloists.


Major works


Orchestral

*''Angels Move'' "籟動", Mandolin Concerto


Mandolin orchestra

*''Dance of Fire Festival'' *''Beyond the Rainbow'' *''Song of the Japanese Autumn'' *''Novemberfest'' *''Railroad song'' *''Steamy Steaming'' *''Outward of Forest'' *''Pear-shaped Dance'' *''Within the Fence''


Mandolin solo

*''Moon and Mountain Witch'' *''Jongara'' *''Winter Light'' *''Impromptu'' *''Perpetual Motion'' *''Silent Door'' *''Improvised Poem''


Compositions

Yasuo Kuwahara's expressive compositions tell stories in musical fashion. The Song of Japanese Autumn describes the "struggle of peasants" in the early fall against the time when the autumn gales fall with heavy showers, and the stillness afterward when the weather calms down again at the end of the piece — all told musically with "accented rhythm", "agitated melody",
tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo. The first is a rapid reiteration: * Of a single Musical note, note, particularly used on String instrument#Bowing, bowed string instrument ...
and peaceful cadenza. Characteristic of Kuwahara's pieces are long traditional (for Japanese compositions) expressive tremolo passages, but he also weaved modern playing techniques into his compositions. This was taken to the extreme in his orchestral work ''Novemberfest'', in which he integrated seven different mandolin-voice percussive effects. Instead of the mandolin's normal plucking-of-strings with a pick, or using tremolo, sound is made with fingers, knuckles or the plectrum knocked on different parts of the instrument. Yasuo Kuwahara was also known to use stylistic elements of contemporary music in his compositions, such as
Minimal music Minimal music (also called minimalism)"Minimalism in music has been defined as an aesthetic, a style, and a technique, each of which has been a suitable description of the term at certain points in the development of minimal music. However, two o ...
.


Recordings of his compositions

* ''Clicking Ecstasy'' by Mülheimer Zupforchester, Detlef Tewes conducting, 1998: : Track 7, The Song of the Japanese Autumn: I. Andante : Track 8, The Song of the Japanese Autumn: II. Allegro non troppo : Track 9, The Song of the Japanese Autumn: III. Meno mosso : Track 10, The Song of the Japanese Autumn: IV. Allegro non troppo : Track 11, The Song of the Japanese Autumn: V. Andante


References


See also

*
List of mandolinists (sorted) This is a list of mandolinists, people who have specifically furthered the mandolin by composing for it, by playing it, or by teaching it. They are identified by their affiliation to the instrument. First generation mandolinists (c. 1744 - 1880 ...
*
List of Japanese composers This is a list of Japanese composers, ordered by birth date. Not true actually: * Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443) * Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614–1685) * Uragami Gyokudō (1745-1820) * Hiromori Hayashi (1831–1896) * Nakao Tozan (1876-1956) Shōka, Li ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuwahara, Yasuo 1946 births 2003 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Japanese composers 20th-century Japanese male musicians 21st-century classical composers 21st-century Japanese composers 21st-century Japanese male musicians Japanese classical composers Japanese classical mandolinists Japanese male classical composers Musicians from Kobe