Yashir¯, Akio

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Yashir̄, Akio

Yashir̄, Akio, Japanese composer and teacher; b. Tokyo, Sept. 10, 1929; d. Yokohama, April 9, 1976. He studied piano with Leonid Kreutzer and composition with Hashimoto, Ifukube, and Ikenouchi at the Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku, graduating in 1949. He then went to Paris, where he studied composition with Noël Gallon at the Cons. (1951-54), and took private lessons with Boulanger and Messiaen. Returning to Japan, he joined the faculty of the Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku (1956) and the Toho Gakuen School of Music (1958).

Works

String Quartet (1954-55); Sonata for 2 Flutes and Piano (1957-58); Sym. (Tokyo, June 9, 1958); Cello Concerto (Tokyo, June 24, 1960); Piano Sonata (1960); Piano Concerto (Tokyo, Nov. 5, 1967); Ouverture de fête for Brass Ensemble (Sapporo, Feb. 3, 1972).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire