湯浅譲二 Joji Yuasa

1929年福島県郡山市生まれ。
少年期より音楽活動に興味をおぼえ独学で作曲を始める。
49年慶応義塾大学教養学部医学部進学コースに入学。在学中より秋山邦晴、武満徹らと親交を結び、51年「実験工房」に参加、作曲に専念する。

以来、オーケストラ、室内楽、合唱、劇場用音楽、インターメディア、電子音楽、コンピュータ音楽など、幅広い作曲活動を行っており、国内はもとより、世界の主要オーケストラ、フェスティバルなどから多数の委嘱を受けている。
これまでにニューヨークのジャパン・ソサエティ、DAADのベルリン芸術家計画、シドニーのニュー・サウス・ウェールズ音楽院、トロント大学など世界各国から招聘を受け、また、ハワイにおける今世紀の芸術祭、香港のアジア作曲家会議、英国文化振興会主催の現代音楽巡回演奏会、アムステルダムの作曲家講習会などに、ゲスト作曲家、講師として参加するなど、国際的に活動している。

81年からカリフォルニア大学サンディエゴ校教授を務め（現在名誉教授）、日本大学芸術学部、東京音楽大学、桐朋学園大学等で後進の指導にあたる。1997年、「ヴァイオリン協奏曲―イン・メモリー・オブ　武満徹─」により第45回尾高賞を受賞。同年、第28回サントリー音楽賞を受賞。1998年から2011年まで、「サントリーホール国際作曲委嘱シリーズ」の監修を務めた。2010年、国際現代音楽協会（ISCM）名誉会員に選ばれる。

受賞：ベルリン芸術祭審査員特別賞（1961）、イタリア賞（1966、67）、ヴェネチア国際記録映画祭サン・マルコ金獅子賞（1967）、尾高賞（1973、88、97、2003、2024）、日本芸術祭賞（1973、83）、飛騨古川音楽賞大賞、京都音楽賞大賞（1995）、サントリー音楽賞（1996）、芸術選奨文部大臣賞（1997）、紫綬褒章（1997）、日本芸術院賞・恩賜賞（1999）、第23回日本アカデミー賞映画音楽優秀賞（2000）、旭日小綬章（2007）、文化功労者（2014）。

2024年7月21日逝去。享年94。

写真：石塚潤一

Joji Yuasa, born on August 12, 1929, in Koriyama, Japan, is a self taught composer. He first became interested in music while a pre medical student at Keio University, and in 1952 turned to music full time when he joined a young artists’ group, the Experimental Workshop in Tokyo. Since then, Yuasa has been actively engaged in a wide range of musical composition, including orchestral, choral and chamber music, music for theater, and intermedia, electronic and computer music. 

His works, including film and television scores, have won several prizes; among them the Jury’s Special Prize of the 1961 Berlin Film Festival, the Prix Italia (1966, ’67), the San Marco Golden Lion Prize (1967), the Otaka Prize (1972, ’88, ’97, 2003), Grand Prizes at the Japan Arts Festival (1973, ’83), the Hida-Furukawa Music Grand Prize (1995), the Kyoto Music Grand Prize (1995), the Suntory Music Prize (1996), the Medal with Purple Ribbon (1997), Education Minister’s Art Encouragement Prize (1997), the Imperial Prize (1999) the Japan Art Academy Prize (1999) and the Persons in Cultural Merit since 2014, etc. 

Yuasa has received a number of scholarships at home and abroad: a Japan Society Fellowship (1968–69), Composer-in-Residence at the Center for Music Experiment UCSD (1976), Berlin Artist Program by DAAD (1976–77), the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney (1980), University of Toronto (1981) and IRCAM (1987), Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2002), among others. 

He has won numerous commissions for his orchestral, chamber, chorus and electronic compositions including commissions for orchestral works from the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Saarländischer Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Canada Council, Suntory Music Foundation (presently the Suntory Foundation for Arts), IRCAM and National Endowment for the Arts of the U.S.A., among others. 

As a guest composer, lecturer, judge and artistic director, Yuasa has contributed to the Festival of Arts In This Century in Hawaii (1970), New Music Concerts in Toronto (1980), the Asian Composers League in Hong Kong (1981), a concert tour for Contemporary Music Network by the British Arts Council (1981), the Asia Pacific Festival in New Zealand (1984), Composers Workshop in Amsterdam (1984, ’87), Internationale Ferienkurse Für Neue Musik in Darmstadt (1988), Lerchenborg Music Tage (1986, ’88) and Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo (1990), COMPOSIUM 2002 in Tokyo, Romania Contemporary Music Festival (2009), Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie (2009), Stanford University (2009), The Suntory Foundation for Arts’ Suntory Hall International Program for Music Composition (1999-2011), among others. In 2005 his Responsorium from “Requiem of Reconciliation,” commissioned by Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart as a commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II, was premiered. 

Since 1996 he has served as one of the “Frontier Ambassadors” for Koriyama City and composed the school songs for several primary schools in the city. In 2016 he composed an orchestral piece, That’s Adatarayama (Mountain Adatara), commemorating the 90th anniversary of the municipal administration and the 50th anniversary of consolidation of the city (2014). He is still vigorously working to revitalize the regional music activities in Koriyama. 

His music has been widely performed throughout the world at such festivals as the ISCM World Music Days (1971, ’74, ’78, ’79, ’81, ’83–’86, ’91, ’93, ’95, 2005, ’08), Warsaw Autumn (1969, ’76, ’78, ’81, ’84, ’86), Horizon ’84, ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival (1995, 2005) and Venice Biennale (2005). 

From 1981 to 1994, Yuasa was actively engaged in music research and education at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He was also the guest professor at Tokyo College of Music, Toho Gakuen College Music Department, Nihon University College of Art. Presently, he is professor emeritus at UCSD and an honorary member of ISCM and an honorary citizen of Koriyama City. （as of 25 October 2017） 

Passed away on July 21, 2024. Passed away at the age of 94.

photo credit: Junichi Ishizuka