Yasushi akutagawa biography sample paper

Japanese composer and conductor (1925–1989)

Yasushi Akutagawa (芥川 也寸志, Akutagawa Yasushi, July 12, 1925 – January 31, 1989)^[1] was a Japanese composer and conductor.

His father was Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

Biography

Akutagawa was born and raised in Tabata, Tokyo, the son of writer Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

Akutagawa studied composition with Kunihiko Hashimoto, Kan'ichi Shimofusa and Akira Ifukube at the Tokyo Music School.

Ryūnosuke akutagawa anime

He was one of the members of Sannin no kai (The Three) along with Ikuma Dan and Toshiro Mayuzumi.

In 1954, when Japan did not have diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union yet, Akutagawa entered the Soviet Union illegally, and made friends with Dmitri Shostakovich, Aram Khachaturian and Dmitri Kabalevsky.

Akutagawa was the only Japanese composer whose works were officially published in the Soviet Union at that time. His 1950 Music for Symphony Orchestra reflects his love of the music of Shostakovich and Prokofiev.