was a Japanese composer.

Life

Moroi was self-taught in composition while studying at the

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 ...

before moving in 1932 to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to study in the Berlin Musikhochschule under Leo Schrattenholz and Walter Gmeindl. While Moroi had been active in the Tokyo musical scene, forming with other colleagues a society named Surya, he claimed that his creative life truly started from his Berlin days. Returning to Japan in 1934, he built a successful career in subsequent years. His work was part of the music event in the art competition at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. Soon after completing his Symphony No. 3 in 1944 he was called up by the Japanese Army to serve in the

Second World War 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 ...

. Following the country's surrender he focused on teaching and writing books on music theory, composing just eight works in the following three decades, including two more symphonies. In his last works he turned to the twelve-tone system. Pupils of Moroi include Ikuma Dan, Toriro Miki, Toshiharu Ichikawa (市川都志春), Yoshirō Irino, Kunio Toda (戸田邦雄), Minao Shibata, Sōkichi Ozaki (尾崎宗吉), Akio Yashiro, Chūji Kinoshita (木下忠司), and Im Won-sik. His son Makoto Moroi was also a composer.

List of works

Orchestral

*''Symphonic Fragments'' (交響的断章 ''Kōkyōteki danshō'') (1928); formerly Op. 19 *Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 (1933) *Symphony No. 2, Op. 16 (1937–1938) *''Imperial Army Ode'' (皇軍頌歌 ''Kōgun shōka''), Symphonic Poem (1942) :: 3. ''Banri no soto'' (萬里の外) *''Two Symphonic Movements'' (交響的二楽章 ''Kōkyōteki ni gakushō''), Op. 22 (1942) *''The Admiral, Killed in Action'' (提督戦死 ''Teitoku senshi''), Symphonic Poem (1943) *''Praise the Dawn'' (黎明を讃ふ ''Reimei wo tatau''), Symphonic Fantasy in C major (1943) *'' Sinfonietta for Children'' (こどものための小交響曲 ''Kodomo no tame no shō-kōkyōkyoku'') in B, Op. 24 (1943) *Symphony No. 3, Op. 25 (1943–1944) *''Ovation on Toward Victory'' (勝利への歓呼 ''Shōri e no kanko''), Overture (1944) *Symphony No. 4, Op. 27 (1951) *Symphony No. 5 ''"Academic Festival Symphony"'' (大学祝典交響曲 ''Daigaku shukuten kōkyōkyoku''), Op. 29 (1970)

Concertante

*Concerto in F minor for piano and orchestra (1927); formerly Op. 6 *Concerto No. 1 in C major for piano and orchestra, Op. 7 (1933) *Concerto for cello and orchestra, Op. 12 (1936) *Concerto for bassoon and orchestra, Op. 14 (1937); lost *Concerto for violin and orchestra, Op. 18 (1939) *''Allegro'' (アレグロ) for piano and orchestra, Op. 26 (1947) *Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra, Op. 31 (1977)

Chamber

*Sonata No. 1 for cello and piano (1927) *Piano Trio in B minor (1927) *Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano (1927) *Sonata No. 2 for cello and piano (1928) *Sonata No. 3 for cello and piano (1929) *Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano (1929) *Piano Quintet (1930) *String Quartet, Op. 6 (1933) *Piano Quartet, Op. 9 (1934) *Sonata for viola and piano, Op. 11 (1935) *Trio for cello, viola da gamba and harpsichord, Op. 13 (1936) *Sonata for flute and piano, Op. 15 (1937) *String Sextet, Op. 17 (1939) *String Trio, Op. 19 (1939) *Sonata for horn and piano, Op. 32 (1977)

Piano

Moroi composed a total of ten sonatas for piano: three early sonatas, five numbered sonatas written between 1927 and 1931, and a second set of two numbered sonatas with opus numbers written in 1933 and 1939. *Sonata (1920) *Sonata (1922) *Sonata in D minor (1923) *Sonata No. 1 in D major (1927) *Sonata No. 2 in A minor (1927) *Sonata No. 3 (1928) *Sonata No. 4 (1929) *''Prelude'' (前奏曲 ''Zensōkyoku'') (1930) *Sonata No. 5 (1931) *Sonata No. 1, Op. 5 (1933) *Sonata No. 2, Op. 20 (1939) *''Suite for Piano'' (ピアノのための組曲 ''Piano no tame no kumikyoku'') (1942) *''Preludio and Allegro giocoso'' (前奏曲とアレグロ・ジョコーソ) (1971)

Choral

*''Prayer for Peace'' (平和の祈り ''Heiwa no inori''), Cantata (1950) *''A Visit of the Sun'' (太陽のおとずれ ''Taiyō no otozure''), Fantasy-Oratorio for baritone, female chorus and orchestra, Op. 28 (1968)

Vocal

*''Kokyoku'' (小曲) for voice and piano (1926); words by Atsuo Ōki (大木惇夫) *''The Boy'' (少年 ''Shōnen'') for voice and piano (1926); words by Tatsuji Miyoshi *''Wind, Light, Leaves'' (風、光、木の葉 ''Kaze, hikari, konoha'') for voice and piano (1926); words by Atsuo Ōki (大木惇夫) *''Gingko Tree'' (公孫樹 ''Ichō'') for voice and piano (1927); words by Shigeo Inoue (井上思外雄) *''The Deathbed'' (臨終 ''Rinjū'') for voice and cello (1928); words by

Chūya Nakahara , born , was a Japanese poet active during the early Shōwa period. Originally shaped by Dada and other forms of European (mainly French) experimental poetry, he was one of the leading renovators of Japanese poetry. Although he died at the young ...

*''Morning Song'' (朝の歌 ''Asa no uta'') for voice and cello (1928); words by

*''Munashiki aki'' (空しき秋) for voice and piano (1929); words by

*''The Pram'' (乳母車 ''Ubaguruma'') for voice and piano (1931); words by Tatsuji Miyoshi *''Two Songs'' (2つの歌曲 ''Futatsu no kakyoku'') for soprano and orchestra, Op. 10 (1935); words by

:# ''Spring and Baby'' (春と赤ん坊 ''Haru to akanbō'') :# ''My Sister'' (妹よ ''Imo yo'') *''Tōki yama miyu'' (遠き山見ゆ) for voice and piano, Op. 33 (1977); words by Tatsuji Miyoshi

References

*Notes by Morihide Katayama from the

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

release of Moroi's Symphony No. 3, Two Symphonic Movements and Sinfonietta.

External links

Saburō Moroi biography at Naxos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moroi, Saburo 1903 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Japanese classical composers 20th-century Japanese male musicians University of Tokyo alumni Composers from Tokyo Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Japanese male classical composers Art competitors at the 1936 Summer Olympics