is a Japanese
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
of contemporary music.
Style
Satoh’s compositions mix
Japanese court music with
European romanticism and
electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
.
Career
His musical career began with an experimental, mix media group called "Tone Field" in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. He studied at
Nihon University
, abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...
of Art in the early 1970s
and is primarily
self-taught
Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning, self-study and self-teaching) is the practice of education without the guidance of schoolmasters (i.e., teachers, professors, institutions).
Overview
Autodi ...
in composition. In 1972 and 1981, Satoh produced two other experimental projects. The latter involved placing eight speakers approximately one kilometer apart on nearby mountain tops overlooking a huge valley. In 1985, he collaborated with theater designer Manuel Luetgenhorst to stage his music at The Arts at St. Ann's in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
.
He wrote his violin concerto for
Anne Akiko Meyers.
Compositions
;Orchestra
* ''Sumeru'' (1982)
* ''Homa'' (1988)
* ''Ruika'' (1990)
* ''Toward the Night'' (1991)
* ''Glimmering Darkness'' (1995)
* ''Kami no Miuri'' (1995)
* ''Burning Meditation'' (1995)
* ''Listening to Fragrances of the Dusk'' (1997)
* ''Firefly Garden'' (1998)
* ''Kisetsu'' (1999)
* ''From the Depth of Silence'' (2000)
* ''Kyokoku'' (2000)
* ''Violin Concerto'' (2002)
;Vocal music
* ''Stabat Mater'' (1987)
;Works using Japanese musical instruments
* ''Chinmoku'' (Silence) (1977)
* ''Kaze no Kyoku'' (Music of the Winds) (1979)
* ''Ki No Koe'' (Voice of Tree) (1982)
* ''Kamu Ogui Goto'' (1989)
* ''Kougetsu KOUGETSU'' (1990)
* ''Snayou'' (1991)
* ''Tamaogi Koto'' (1994)
* ''Hi No Kyoku'' (1996)
* ''Usuzumi'' (2004)
;Chamber music
* ''Litania'' (1973)
* ''Hymn for the Sun'' (1973)
* ''Kagami'' (Mirror) (1975)
* ''Cosmic Womb'' (1975)
* ''Incarnation II'' (1978)
* ''The Heavenly Spheres are Illuminated by Lights'' (1979)
* ''Birds in Warped Time II'' (1980)
* ''Hoshi No Mon'' (A Gate into the Stars) (1982)
* ''Kaze No Kyoku II'' (Music of the Winds II) (1984)
* ''Hikari'' (Light) (1986)
* ''Toki No Mon'' (A Gate into Infinity) (1988)
* ''Shun-Shu-Ka'' (Lament for Spring) (1989)
* ''Lanzarote'' (1993)
* ''Incarnation I'' (1977)
* ''Uzu'' (Vortex) (1988)
* ''Recitative'' (1991)
* ''Innocence'' (1996)
* ''Choral'' (2000)
* ''Bifu'' (2013)
;Electronic music
* ''Emerald Tablet'' (1978)
* ''Mandara'' (1982)
* ''Mantra'' (1986)
* ''Tantra'' (1990)
Awards
* Japan Arts Festival, 1980
* Asian Cultural Council, 1983
References
External links
Somei Satoh (Zen-On Contemporary Composers)
from Lovely Music, Ltd. site
1947 births
20th-century Japanese classical composers
20th-century Japanese male musicians
21st-century Japanese classical composers
21st-century Japanese male musicians
Contemporary classical music performers
Japanese contemporary classical composers
Japanese male classical composers
Living people
Musicians from Sendai
Nihon University alumni
{{Japan-musician-stub