is a Japanese musician who specialises as a violinist and composer.

Biography

Career

Hakase was involved in a Japanese band called Kryzler & Kompany which formed while he was in college. He played the violin, while Tsuneyoshi Saito played keyboards, and Yoshinobu Takeshita played bass. Their first eponymous album was released in September 1990 and sold 74,000 copies. Their second, ''Kryzler And Company #'', sold over 81,000 copies. Steve McClure of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote that they have become "Japan's unlikeliest pop idols, attracting hordes of screaming fans, a far cry from the decorum and reserve usually shown by Japan's classical music audiences." The band provided the music for

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

's single "

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" which was recorded as the theme song for the Japanese drama ''Koibito Yo'' (My Dear Lover). The song reached number one on Billboard Japan. He then joined Dion on her nationwide promotional tour making television appearances and performed the song during her 1996–1997 Falling into You Tour and her 1998–1999 Let's Talk About Love Tour as guest violinist. When Dion went on hiatus to have her son, Hakase pursued a solo career, and Kryzler & Kompany disbanded after having produced 11 albums. In 2006, to celebrate 10 years of his success, Hakase reunited with Dion in

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during a performance of her show A New Day... to perform "To Love You More". He performed "Addio monti (I promessi sposi)" on the 2007

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tribute album ''We All Love Ennio Morricone'', and also co-composed the album ''Symphonic Poem "Hope"'' with Yuji Toriyama, a collection of themes used in promotional videos for ''

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''. In his native Japan, his song "Another Sky" is

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' theme song, while "Color Your Life" is

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's theme song. On July 10, 2013, it was announced that he featured on D-Lite (Daesung) from BigBang's song "I Love You". On May 20, 2014, he was featured on

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's song " Can You Celebrate?", the song was rerecorded with a new vocals and new music video On July 4, 2014, he was featured on a remix of American singer

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

's song " Baby I". It was included on the Japanese version of Grande's second album '' My Everything''. Kryzler & Kompany would later reunite. They released the album ''New World'' in February 2015 to commemorate their 25th anniversary.

Personal life

Hakase is married to Japanese actress Mayuko Takata and they live together in Tokyo, Japan.

Discography

Albums

* ''Watashi'' (May 21, 1997) * ''Canary'' (April 22, 1998, with Toshi) * ''髪結い伊三次 Original Sound Track'' (May 21, 1999) * ''Duets'' (October 21, 1999) * ''Tango Nostalgia'' (タンゴ・ノスタルジア) (August 30, 2000) * ''Violinism (Acoustic Best)'' (September 1, 2000) * ''Endless Violin'' (September 5, 2001) * ''The Best Track'' (August 21, 2002) * ''Violinism II'' (October 2, 2002) * ''Traveling Notes'' (October 8, 2003) * ''Migration'' (November 27, 2003) * ''What a Day...'' (November 15, 2004) * ''Der Wunder: 葉加瀬太郎 meets 松本零士'' (November 25, 2004) * ''Violinism with Love'' (October 5, 2005) * ''The Best of Mozart Selected by Taro Hakase'' (May 3, 2006) * ''Sweet Melodies: Taro Plays Hakase'' (September 6, 2006) * ''Songs'' (July 4, 2007) * ''Classical Tuning'' (September 10, 2008) * ''The Best Track'' (September 2, 2009) * ''My Favorite Songs'' (September 9, 2009) * ''Emotionism'' (September 29, 2010) * ''The Best of Taro Hakase'' (August 10, 2011) * ''With One Wish'' (November 7, 2012) * ''Japonism'' (August 21, 2013) * ''Etupirka (Best Acoustic)'' (2014)

Singles

* "Ben" (May 21, 1997) * "Natural High" (November 21, 1997, with Toshi) * "Brazil" (November 21, 1997) * "So Nice (Summer Samba)" (August 21, 1999) * "交響詩「希望」Symphonic Poem 'Hope'" (March 1, 2006)

Collaborations

* " Baby I" in collaboration with

, from '' My Everything'' Japanese edition (August 25, 2014)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hakase, Taro 1968 births Japanese composers Japanese male composers Living people Musicians from Suita Tokyo University of the Arts alumni 21st-century Japanese violinists 21st-century Japanese male musicians