Minoru Miki

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Minoru Miki (三木 稔 Miki Minoru?, born 16 March 1930 in Tokushima) is a Japanese composer and artistic director, particularly known for his promotional activities in favour of Japanese (as well as Chinese and Korean) traditional instruments and some of their performers.

His vast catalogue, where aforementioned traditional instruments figure profusely either solo or in various types of ensemble with or without Western instruments, demonstrates large stylistic and formal diversity. It includes operas and several types of stage music as well as orchestral, concerto, chamber and solo music, and music for films. Miki is probably the second best known Japanese composer overseas after Tōru Takemitsu.

He is a pioneer in the composition of contemporary classical music for large ensembles of traditional Japanese musical instruments. In 1964 he founded the Pro Musica Nipponia ensemble, for which he has composed extensively.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Compositional idiom

[edit] Major works by type

[edit] Vocal

[edit] Stage

[edit] Operatic Cycle on Japanese History (日本史オペラ連作)
  • Shunkinshō (春琴抄)
  • Ada, An Actor's Revenge (あだ)
  • Jōruri (じょうるり)
  • Wakahime (ワカヒメ)
  • Shizuka to Yoshitsune (静と義経)
  • Sumidagawa/Kusabira (隅田川／くさびら)
  • Genji monogatari (源氏物語)
  • Aien (愛怨)

[edit] Other stage works
  • The Monkey Poet (1983)
  • Yomigaeru 読み蛙(1992)
  • From the Land of Light 光の国から (Ballet)

[edit] Choral with orchestra

  • Requiem (1963), baritone solo, male chorus.

[edit] Choral without orchestra

  • The Mole's Tale (1966), male chorus, 2perc.

[edit] Solo with orchestra

[edit] Solo without orchestra

  • Shirabe: 4 songs for tenor and harp (1979)

[edit] Instrumental

[edit] Film music

[edit] Orchestral

  • Trinita sinfonica (1953)
  • Symphony Joya (1960)
  • Symphony from Life (1980)
  • Beijing Requiem (1990), string orch
  • MAI 舞 (1992)

[edit] Orchestral with soloist(s)

  • Marimba Concerto (1969)
  • Eurasian Trilogy 鳳凰三連 (1969; 74; 81), koto and shakuhati soli
  • Koto Concerto N. 1 (1974); this piece is also the second movement of Eurasian Trilogy
  • Koto Concerto N. 2 (1978)
  • Koto Concerto N. 3 (1980); aka Concerto Requiem
  • Koto Concerto N. 4 (1984); aka Pine Concerto 松の協奏曲
  • Koto Concerto N. 5 (1985)
  • Z Concerto (1992), marimba and percussion soli
  • Pipa Concerto (1997)
  • Requiem 99 (1998); marimba solo, orchestra of Japanese traditional instruments
  • Trio Concerto (2000), shakuhati, pipa, 21-koto soli, orchestra of Japanese instruments
  • Shakuhati Concerto (2002), aka Lotus Concerto

[edit] Chamber

  • Piano Sextet (1965), fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, pf
  • Piano Trio (1986), pf, vn, vc
  • String Quartet (1989)
  • Marimba Spiritual (1983) marimba solo with percussion trio

[edit] Solo

  • Time, (1968), marimba
  • Ballades for koto (I-Winter, 1969; II-Spring, 1976; III-Summer, 1983, ; IV-Autumn, 1990)


[edit] References

  • 三木稔、「日本楽器法」、東京：音楽之友社、1996年。
  • 三木稔、「オペラ《源氏物語》ができるまで」、東京：中央アート出版社、2001年。

[edit] External links

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