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Home > Yuasa, Joji

Yuasa, Joji 1929 - 2024

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  • Author: Sudoh, Eiko

  • Last updated:April 24, 2018
  • Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

    Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

    Born in Fukushima in 1929, Jōji Yuasa became acquainted with art in his childhood and started composing by himself. He was influenced by his father who was a doctor and loved music. Although Yuasa went to Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, with the aim of becoming a surgeon, he dropped out of the University after he began to become familiar with various contemporary music forms. He participated in the avant-garde artist group ‘experimental workshop’ with Tōru Takemitsu, Kuniharu Akiyama and others. In 1951, he started devoting himself to composition.

    Early Works and Development

    Yuasa’s early works were influenced by Messiaen, Bartók, Jolivet and others. His creations came out of Western avant-garde music, such as twelvetone music and music of indeterminacy. In this period, He wrote piano pieces such as “Cosmos Haptic” (1957) aiming at returning to the origin of Western techniques and “Projection Esemplastic” (1961) written in graphical score.

    Expanding Horizons and Spatial Concepts

    Starting in mid-1960s, Yuasa’s interest in electronic music deepend and he expanded the range of sound materials for Japanese musical instruments and voices. In addition, he devised his own idea of making music “spatial and temporal transition of acoustic energy”, gradually building up his position as a composer. In the 1970s, “Chronoplastic for orchestra” (1972) won the Otaka Prize for the first time as an avant-garde work, and he got worldwide reputation. In the same year, he composed “On The Keyboard” for the piano (1972), aiming for a new resonance for piano with only transcendental skill, and without manually playing the piano strings.

    Academic Career and Further Exploration

    From 1981 to 1994, Yuasa worked as a professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Here he was sure the theory of “music as acoustic energy.” In this environment, he felt he could seriously concentrate on just music. In “Cosmos Haptic II Transfiguration” (1986), he saw the piano as a huge sounding body and created a transition of its sound. In “Piano Concertino” (1994), he realized the fusion of piano and orchestral sounds, while using the method of twelve-tone music.

    Later Works, Recognition, and Awards

    In addition to these works, his other works include pieces for orchestral music, chamber music, choral music, electronic music, computer music and film music. His quiet and rich, unique music is widely played internationally. Besides working as a professor of UCSD and Nihon University, he served as a guest professor of Tokyo College of Music and other places. Currently he is a professor emeritus of UCSD, an honorary member of the International Contemporary Music Association (ISCM). Among the awards he has received are:

    • the Jury’s Special Award at the Berlin Film Festival
    • the Kyoto Music Grand Prize
    • the Medal with Purple Ribbon
    • the Japan Art Academy Prize (1999)
    • the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette and others.
    Author: Sudoh, Eiko
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    Works(25)

    Concerto

    Works with orchestral accompaniment (1)

    Piano Concertino

    Composed in: 1994 

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    Piano Solo

    pieces (1)

    Two Pastorals

    Composed in: 1952  Playing time: 4 min 50 sec 

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    serenade (1)

    Serenade Chant pour “Do”

    Composed in: 1954 

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    character pieces (2)

    Cosmos Haptic

    Composed in: 1957  Playing time: 6 min 30 sec 

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    On the keyboard

    Composed in: 1972  Playing time: 7 min 00 sec 

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    Various works (14)

    Mimi wo Sumashite Goran (Prick up your ears)

    Playing time: 3 min 30 sec 

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    Ai yori Aoku (Bluer than Indigo)

    Playing time: 2 min 10 sec 

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    Wataridori (Migratory Bird)

    Playing time: 2 min 40 sec 

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    Lullaby for Rena

    Playing time: 2 min 00 sec 

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    Good Night, Sleep Well

    Playing time: 4 min 40 sec 

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    Kawa (River)

    Playing time: 2 min 20 sec 

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    Jaane (Bye!)

    Playing time: 2 min 10 sec 

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    Cosmos Haptic II -Transfiguration-

    Composed in: 1986  Playing time: 13 min 00 sec 

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    Subliminal Hey J.

    Composed in: 1990  Playing time: 4 min 00 sec 

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    Melodies

    Composed in: 1997  Playing time: 8 min 00 sec 

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    "Ponpon Tene (Tum-tum Tummy), Lullaby for Rena"

    Composed in: 1960  Playing time: 1 min 30 sec 

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    Three Score-set

    Composed in: 1953 

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    Projection Topologic

    Composed in: 1959  Playing time: 7 min 00 sec 

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    Piano Ensemble

    Various works (1)

    Projection for Two Pianos

    Composed in: 2004 

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    Chamber Music

    Chamber music (3)

    Cosmos Haptic IV

    Composed in: 1997  Playing time: 10 min 00 sec 

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    Solitude in Memoriam T.T.

    Composed in: 1997  Playing time: 15 min 00 sec 

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    A Winter Day -Homage to Basho-

    Composed in: 1981  Playing time: 18 min 00 sec 

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    etc

    Various works (2)

    Projection Esemplastic

    Composed in: 1961  Playing time: 9 min 00 sec 

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    Snow falling down

    Composed in: 1972  Playing time: 10 min 00 sec 

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