HACHIMURA, Yoshio

Born in Tokyo. Yoshio Hachimura began studying the piano at the age of eight. He studied solfège under Minao Shibata and Yoshiro Irino at Toho Gakuen’s Music School for Children, and later studied piano and composition with Taminosuke Matsumoto before graduating from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 1961. After composing his “Opus 1,” Improvisation pour piano (1957), he completed One Hour at Every One Breath (1960–61), thereby moving away from expressionist elements and establishing a style characterized by sustained tension through the superimposition of linear textures. Beginning with Constellation (1968–69), in which the stern, austere sonority of tubular bells leaves a lasting impression, he created music that does not express emotion and impulse directly, but instead presents them through the lens of logic and objectivity. Elixir (1973–74), which vividly contrasts silence with dynamic passages, and The Logic of Distraction (1974–75), characterized by powerful sounds that seem to radiate energy while simultaneously condensing it, evoke a sense of catharsis in listeners. He taught at Toho Gakuen School of Music from 1967 to 1984 before dying of carcinomatous peritonitis at the age of 46. Although he wrote no more than 20 works, his music continues to fascinate musicians and is frequently performed. (Written by Takatoshi Hirano)