Miki, Minoru 1930 - 2011
Author: Nakatsuji, Maho
Last updated：April 24, 2018
Author: Nakatsuji, Maho
Minoru Miki was born in Tokushima on March 16, 1930 (Showa 5). As a high school student, he participated in choral activities, and from the age of 20, he began to seriously study piano and harmony. In 1951, he entered the Composition Department of the Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music, where he studied under Tomojiro Ikenouchi and Akira Ifukube. After composing extensively for radio, television, and film, he contributed to the revitalization of the Japanese traditional music scene.
In 1964, he founded the Japanese traditional instrument ensemble group "Nihon Ongaku Shudan" (Pro Musica Nipponia), serving as its music director for 20 years and realizing over 160 overseas performances. He composed ensemble works for Japanese traditional instruments such as Paraphrase by Ancient Dance, Images for Four Groups, Totsu, Wa, and Hote. In 1970, the four-record set The Music of Minoru Miki by Pro Musica Nipponia received the Grand Prize at the Arts Festival. From 1969, he was also involved in the development of the 20-string koto (later becoming 21-string), composing a series of works utilizing the new instrument. In 1981, he completed Kyu-no-Kyoku, a work commissioned for the Gewandhaus Orchestra's 200th anniversary, and presented Phoenix Triad (Hōō Sanren) along with Jo-no-Kyoku and Ha-no-Kyoku. In 1983, he composed Rainbow Overture for a joint performance by Pro Musica Nipponia and the Central National Orchestra, and ten years later, he spearheaded the formation of "Orchestra Asia," comprising traditional instrument ensembles from Japan, China, and Korea.
He also pursued opera composition in parallel, completing a series of nine operas surveying Japanese history from the 5th to the 20th century with The Happy Pagoda in 2010. His early trilogy, Shunkin-sho, Ada, and Joruri, were performed in Finland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, earning high international acclaim. Other works frequently performed in Western repertoire include Marimba Spiritual. His major publication is Japanese Orchestration. He received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1994 and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2000. He passed away on December 8, 2011. Posthumously, he was awarded the Tokushima Prefectural People's Honor Award.
Author : Nakatsuji, Maho
Last Updated: April 24, 2018
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Author : Nakatsuji, Maho
Minoru Miki was born in Tokushima prefecture on March 16 in 1930. During high school, he was a member of a choral group and studied piano and the theory of harmony. He entered into Tokyo University of the Arts and studied composition with Tomojirō Ikenouchi and Akira Ifukube. After composing many works for the radio, television, and films, Miki contributed to the invigoration of the Japanese traditional music world.
In 1964, he founded the ensemble “Nihon Ongaku Shūdan (Japanese Music Group)” and he acted as its music director for the following 20 years while carrying out more than 160 concerts overseas. He composed many ensemble works for traditional Japanese instruments, such as “Kodai Bukyoku ni yoru Paraphrase (Paraphrase based on ancient Dance)”, “Yon gun no tame no Keishō (Images for Four Groups)”, “ 凸 (Convex)”, “Wa (Ring)” and “Hote (Big Fire)”, and in 1970 the record album “Miki Minoru’s Music by Nihon Onagaku Shūdan” won the Grand Prize at the National Arts Festival. Miki took part in the invention of a new instrument, the ‘Nijūgen koto (20 string koto)’ which later was added one more string, and he composed many pieces for this instrument. In 1981, he completed “Kyū no kyoku”, which was commissioned for the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Gewandhaus orchestra, and he presented “Hōō Sanren (Eurasian Trilogy)” which brings together the two pieces “Jo no Kyoku” and “Ha no kyoku”. In 1983, Miki wrote “Saikō Jokyoku (Overture for colorful Rainbow)” for the dual ensemble of Nihon Ongaku Shūdan and Chūō Minzoku Gakudan, and ten years later he launched the ‘Orchestra Asia’ which consisted of ethnic instruments from Japan, China, and Korea.
Miki composed opera too, completing “Shiawase no Pagoda (Happy Pagoda)” and an opera series of nine parts which portrays the history of Japan from the 5th to the 20th century. A trilogy composed in Miki’s early years, “Shunkin-shō (A Portrait of ‘Shunkin’)”, “Ada (An Actor’s Revenge)”, and “Jōruri”, was performed in Finland, Great Britain, United
States of America, and Germany and received high appraisal. Pieces such as “Marimba Spiritual” continue to be performed often in Europe and America. Miki’s most important book is “Nihon Gakki-hō (Instrumentation for Japanese Instruments)”. He received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1994 and the Order of the Rising Sun in 2000. Miki passed away on December 8 in 2011 and was posthumously awarded the Honor Award of Tokushima Prefecture.