Moroi, Makoto 1930 - 2013
Author: Nakatsuji, Maho
Last updated：April 24, 2018
Author: Nakatsuji, Maho
Born in Tokyo on December 17, 1930 (Showa 5), as the second son of Saburo Moroi. Despite his father's opposition, he studied composition and entered the Tokyo Music School (now the Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1948. He studied harmony and counterpoint with Tomojiro Ikenouchi, piano with Kan Kajiwara, and flute with Tadashi Mori. During his time there, he composed works such as "Classical Suite for Piano" (1949) and "Chamber Music No. 3" (1951), both utilizing the twelve-tone technique. In 1953, his "Composition for Orchestra" earned him the distinction of being the first Japanese to be selected at the Queen Elisabeth Competition. He deeply explored serialism and multi-row techniques, and his "α and β for Piano," published in 1954, was selected at the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) Festival. Furthermore, "Seven Variations," completed in collaboration with Toshiro Mayuzumi in 1956, became the genesis of serious electronic music in Japan.
In 1957, he established the "20th Century Music Research Institute" with Minao Shibata, Yoshiro Irino, Toshiro Mayuzumi, Hidekazu Yoshida, and others. They researched indeterminate music and other topics, and also organized music festivals, significantly influencing the Japanese composition scene of the time. He received the Otaka Prize for his "Concert Suite for Violin and Orchestra," which premiered in 1963.
It was from 1964 that Makoto Moroi began to turn his attention to traditional Japanese music. His interaction with Takeo Sakai (2nd generation Takeho), the grand master of the Chikuhō-ryū shakuhachi school, led to the composition of "Five Chapters of Bamboo Flute Sounds" (1964) and "Five Dialogues" (1965). This means that Moroi was engaged in creating shakuhachi music around the same time Toru Takemitsu began incorporating the biwa into his own works. In 1973, he composed "Concerto Symphony No. 1 'Gūtai'," which employed Japanese traditional instruments and orchestra in parallel. While this work includes a quotation from L. v. Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9," works such as "Fantasy and Fugue on the Name of J. S. Bach" (1977) are also categorized within the lineage of polystylistic music.
In 1994, he became the first director of the Saitama Arts Theater, and in 1995, he received the Medal with Purple Ribbon. He passed away on September 2, 2013, due to interstitial pneumonia.
Reconsidering Makoto Moroi's achievements, it can be confirmed that education and enlightenment were also significant musical activities. In addition to serving as a professor at Osaka University of Arts and Shobi Gakuen Junior College, he founded the Alban Berg Society of Japan in 1985 and became its president. He also actively wrote music criticism, displaying a unique sense of humor under the pen name Makotonio Monroy. He authored several books on musical analysis and criticism. Regarding piano music, these include "100 Masterpieces and Master Recordings for Piano" (Ongaku no Tomo Sha, 1977), "Beethoven's Piano Sonatas" (Ongaku no Tomo Sha, 1971) co-authored with Takahiro Sonoda, and "Romantic Piano Pieces" (Ongaku no Tomo Sha, 1984). His essays analyzing works such as R. Schumann's "Fantasiestücke" Op. 17 and F. Chopin's "Piano Sonata No. 3" present practical music research, including considerations of performance practice.
Author : Nakatsuji, Maho
Last Updated: April 24, 2018
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Author : Nakatsuji, Maho
Makoto Moroi
Makoto Moroi was born in Tokyo on December 17, 1930, as the second son of Saburō Moroi. Despite his father's opposition, Moroi began to study composition and entered Tokyo Ongaku Gakkō (Tokyo Academy of Music, now the Faculty of Music at Tokyo University of the Arts). He studied harmony and counterpoint under Tomojirō Ikenouchi, piano under Kan Kajiwara, and flute under Tadashi Mori. While a student, he composed Piano no tame no Koten Kumikyoku (Classical Suite for Piano) (1949) and Shitsunai Ongaku Daisan-ban (Chamber Music No. 3) (1951) using the twelve-tone technique. In 1953, Moroi became the first Japanese composer to be awarded a prize at the Belgian Queen Elisabeth Competition for his Composition for Orchestra. Moroi investigated serial techniques and various tonal laws, receiving the ISCM prize for his Piano no tame no α to β (Alpha and Beta for Piano), composed in 1954. Nana no Variations (Seven Variations), composed with Toshirō Mayuzumi in 1956, pioneered full-scale electronic music in Japan.
In 1957, Moroi established the Institute for 20th-Century Music with Minao Shibata, Yoshirō Irino, Toshirō Mayuzumi, and Hidekazu Yoshida. They researched aleatoric music and held festivals, which greatly influenced the Japanese compositional world at the time. Violin to Orchestra no tame no Kyōsō-kumikyoku (Concerto Suite for Violin and Orchestra) was premiered in 1963 and won the Otaka Award.
It was after 1964 that Moroi turned his attention to traditional Japanese music. As a result of exchanges with shakuhachi players of the Chikuho school, such as Chikudō Sakai (the second-generation Chikuho), Moroi began to compose Chikurai Go-shō (Five Pieces of Wind Blowing in the Bamboo Forest) (1964) and Taiwa Go-dai (Five Dialogues) (1965). Concurrently with Tōru Takemitsu's adaptation of the biwa into his works, Moroi composed shakuhachi music. In 1973, Moroi completed Dai-ichi Kyōsō kōkyōkyoku ‘Gūtai’ (The First Concerto Symphony ‘Gūtai’), a work for traditional Japanese instruments and Western orchestra, which includes quotations from L. v. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Works such as Moroi’s Fantasy and Fugue based on the name of J. S. Bach can also be situated within the context of polystylistic music.
Moroi became the first director of Sai no kuni Saitama Geijutsu Gekijō (Saitama Arts Theater) in 1994 and received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1995. Moroi passed away on September 2, 2013, due to interstitial pneumonia.
It can be confirmed that for Moroi, composition, education, and cultivation were equally important activities. He served as a professor at Osaka Geijutsu Daigaku (Osaka University of Arts) and Shōbi Ongaku Tanki-Daigaku (Shōbi Music Junior College), and in 1985, he established the Japan Alban Berg Institute, becoming its first president.
He wrote extensively on music criticism and exhibited a particular sense of humor when using the pen name 'Makotonio Monroi'. Numerous writings by Moroi concerning music analysis and piano music also exist, such as Piano Meikyoku Meiban 100 (Famous Pieces and Record of a Hundred Piano Music), published by Ongaku No Tomo Sha in 1977; Piano Sonata by Beethoven, written in collaboration with Takahiro Sonoda and published by Ongaku No Tomo Sha in 1971; and Piano Works of the Romanticists (published by Ongaku No Tomo Sha in 1984). Analytical studies on works such as R. Schumann's Fantasy, Op. 17, and F. Chopin's Sonata No. 3 reveal Moroi’s practical music research, which included studies of performance techniques.
Works(9)
Piano Solo
Various works (3)