Jo Kondo

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Jō Kondō (近藤譲; surname Kondō; b. Tokyo, Japan, 1947) is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He graduated from the composition department of Tokyo University of Arts in 1972. He serves as Professor of Music at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo and also teaches at Tokyo University of Arts and Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima.

Kondo's works are often structured mathematically, using minimal principles of composition. However, the repetitions are very rarely literal and operating across the entire ensemble; rather, they are structural, adhering to the "20% redundancy" principle of evolutionary aesthetics.^{[citation needed]} His interests include hocket, the music of Ancient Greece, and strong differences in instrumental timbre, all of which are reflected in his compositions. A similar stylistic point of reference would be the Italian composer Franco Donatoni. The chamber version of his 1975 composition Sight Rhythmics reflects the latter in its unusual instrumentation of violin, banjo, steel drum, electric piano, and tuba.

Kondo's music has been performed by the London Sinfonietta, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Arditti Quartet, the Balanescu Quartet, and Aki Takahashi.

Kondo's works have been recorded on the Hat Art, ALM, Fontec, and Deutsche Grammophon labels. His scores are published by the University of York Music Press.

His notable students include Linda Catlin Smith.