ISHIJIMA, Masahiro

Born in 1960, Masahiro Ishijima graduated from the Composition Department at Toho Gakuen School of Music and completed its post-graduate course. He studied composition under Akira Miyoshi and conducting under Tadaaki Otaka. His debut work, Sonata for Flute and Piano, composed at the age of 17, was performed during Jean-Pierre Rampal’s Japan tour.
His career is distinguished by numerous awards and achievements, including finalist at Toru Takemitsu's MUSIC TODAY International Composition Competition (1979), Third Prize in the Orchestral Division at the 49th Music Competition of Japan (1980), selection for the Japan Symphony Foundation Competition (1981), the Suntory Prize for Community Cultural Activities for the film Shion (1983), a commission for the 10th Min-On Contemporary Music Festival (1984), the Asahi Composition Award (1991), and the Grand Prize of the Japan Arts Festival by the Agency for Cultural Affairs for his ballet Poem of Heaven (1997). In 2008, he was commissioned by the 44th Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music to compose WOVEN for percussion and piano. In 2011, his REQUIEM for piano was performed by the late pianist Gaya Han at the Franz Liszt Bicentennial Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.
He currently serves as a Professor at Toho Gakuen School of Music.

Selected Works
I. Orchestral & Large Ensemble Works
• ODE for Violin and Orchestra (1984 / Camerata CMT-3024-25 / 32CM-79-86)
• GREEN for Orchestra (2009)
• CONCERTINO for Solo Cello and 12 Cellos (2010)
• IN PARADISUM for Percussion Ensemble (2012 / Lugano Percussion Ensemble: Ondes, Stradivarius STR 37216)
• Timpani Concerto (2017 / Commissioned by the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Finland)
• KÛ (Sky) (2017 / Orchestra Project)
II. Chamber Music
• Solo Works
o REQUIEM for piano (2011)
o SOLUS for Solo Violin (2011)
o EXHALE for Solo Marimba (2012)
o Kommos - Genka - for Solo Cello (2026)
• Chamber Ensembles
o Genka Genso (String Flower Fantasy) for Guitar, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1991 / Victor)
o Enka for Shamisen and Clavecin (2002 / ALM Records)
o PROCESSION for Two Marimbas (2012)
o Aria for Violin and Piano (2016)
o Vers Sonores for Violin and Piano
o Stigma for Violin, Cello, and Piano (2026)
o String Quartet No. 2 (2026)
III. Vocal Works
• Onna-uta for 18 Female Voices (2006)
• Three Songs on Poems by Shinpei Kusano for Soprano, Alto Flute, Clarinet, Piano, and Percussion (2006)
• Three Madrigals for 8 Voices (2014)
IV. Opera & Ballet Works
• Opera Miruna no Zashiki (In 2 Acts, 1996)
• Ballet Poem of Heaven (In 2 Acts, 1997)
• Ballet Northern Lights (In 3 Acts, 1998)
• Ballet Fairy Tale (In 2 Acts, 2000)
V. Research & Publications
• Ravel: Complete Piano Works (Editing & Commentary / Zen-On Music Company Ltd.), among others