(surname Etō, born 28 September 1924 in Ōita – died 24 December 2012) was a blind

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

who played the '' koto''. He began musical training at the age of eight with the renowned master

Michio Miyagi was a Japanese musician, famous for his '' koto'' playing. He was born in Kobe. He lost his sight in 1902, when he was 8 years old, and started his study in koto under the guidance of Nakajima Kengyo II, dedicating the rest of his life to the ...

. When he was eleven, he composed his first work. By the age of sixteen, he had received three consecutive grand prizes as an artist and composer from the national ministry and guild. Eto moved to the United States in the 1950s intending to popularize the koto in the Western world. By the mid-1960s, he became well-known in United States music recitals and concerts. He worked most notably with the American composer

Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher, teacher Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 2022.C ...

on his Concerto for Koto and Orchestra. Eto was a soloist playing alongside the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

conducted by

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...

at the Philadelphia Academy of Music in December 1964.

Albums

*''Sound Of The Koto'' (1958) *''Koto Music'' (

World Pacific Records Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles–based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-founde ...

, 1959) *'' Koto & Flute'' (World Pacific Records, 1960) with

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

*''Art Of The Koto'' (

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

, 1962) *''Koto Master'' (World Pacific Records, 1963) *''Sound Of The Koto'' (compilation,

él Records él is an English independent record label based in London that was founded by Mike Alway, later becoming a subsidiary of Cherry Red Records. Their musicians were characterized by a strong English sensibility, as well as the French influence s ...

, 2013)

References

* *

External links

Kimio Eto page
1924 births 2012 deaths Japanese blind musicians 20th-century Japanese male musicians 20th-century Japanese musicians Koto players Place of birth missing Musicians from Ōita Prefecture {{japan-musician-stub

Albums

See also

References

External links