MIYOSHI, Akira

Born in Tokyo in 1933, from the age of three Akira Miyoshi took piano and composition lessons as well as pre-school music classes at Jiyugakuen, a kindergarden, which especially was focussing on children’s creative abilities. After entering the primary school, he started studying violin with Kozaburo Hirai.
In 1951, he entered the Department for French Literature of the University of Tokyo. While still continuing his studies, he was awarded the 1st Prize of the 22nd Japan Music Competition for “Sonata” in 1953 and the 3rd Otaka Prize as well as the Bunkacho’s Art Festival Incentive Prize for “Symphonie Concertante, for Piano and Orchestra” in 1954. Since that time his compositions attracted a lot of attention within the Japanese music scene.
He went to France in 1955 to study composition at the Conservatoire Nationale Superieur de Musique in Paris with Henri Challan, Raymond Gallois Montblanc and also became to be strongly influenced by the works of Henri Dutillieux.
After having returned to Japan in 1957, he continued his studies at the University of Tokyo within different disciplines and graduated in 1960. From that time, he kept publishing numerous pieces every year, mainly symphonic works, chamber music, songs and many choral works.
Especially he acquired an established reputation with the antiwar trilogy; “Requiem” (1972), “Psaume”(1979) and “Kyo-Mon”(1984) which are his masterpieces in the middle period of career.
From 1995 to 1998 he brought out several orchestral works as “Dispersion de l’Été”, “Étoile à Échos”, “Fruits de Brume”, and “Chanson Terminale･Effeuillages des Vagues”. With “Chanson Terminale･Effeuillages des Vagues” he was awarded the Otaka Prize for the 6th time.
In March 1999 he was presenting his first opera “Hasekura Tsunenaga Toi Ho”, which became to be a great success and led him to the 31st Suntory Music Award.He was the president of Toho Gakuen College Music Department from 1974 to 1995, the director of Tokyo Bunka Kaikan from 1996 to 2004. In December 1999 he became a member of the Japan Academy of Arts and in November 2001 he was honoured with the Cultural Merits Award.

■Major Awards
1954 : Mainichi Music Award – Special Award “Sonata pour Violon et Piano”
1954 : The 3rd Otaka Prize for “Symphonie Concertante, for Piano and Orchestra”
1958 : Mainichi Music Award for “Sonata pour Piano seul”
1959 : Italia Award for Radio Drama “Ondine”
1962 : The 11th Otaka Prize for “Concerto pour Piano et Orchestre”
1964 : The 13th Otaka Prize for “Concerto pour Orchestre”
1965 : Mainichi Arts Prize for “Concerto pour Violon et Orchestre”
1974 : The 23rd Otaka Prize for “Concerto pour Violoncelle et Orchestre”
1984 : The 33rd Otaka Prize for “Kyo-Mon, pour Choeur d’Enfants et Orchestre”
1984 : Ordre des Palmes Académiques
1985 : Minister of Education Prize in Art
1996 : Ordre Officier des Arts et des Letters
1998 : The 47th Otaka Prize for “Chanson Terminale･Effeuillages des Vagues”
2000 : The 31st(1999) Suntory Music Award for the Opera “Hasekura Tsunenaga Toi Ho”
Further on Bunkacho Arts Festival Award, NHK Composition Prize et al.