Around the Music Festival

Composer Hosokawa Toshio received the “The Japan Foundation Awards” for 2018. This year’s winners are Novelist / Poet, Tawada Yoko, Salamanca University Spanish Japanese Culture Center and Hosokawa. Each prize (prize) and a supplementary prize (3 million yen) will be awarded at the award ceremony in October. There were 72 entries this year, which will be the 46th.

The award was founded in 1973. Through cultural activities such as academic and artistic contributions have made a remarkable contribution to promoting mutual understanding between Japan and overseas, it is awarded to individuals or organizations that are expected to continue their success. The major winners of the past include Kurosawa Akira (1982), Donald Keene (1983), Ozawa Seiji (1988), Takemitsu Toru (1993), Dan Ikuma (1998), Miyazaki Hayao (2005), Murakami Haruki (2012 ), Isao Tomita (2015) is.

Hosokawa was 62 years old, born in Hiroshima. Studied in Germany from 1976, studied composition with Isang Yun at Berlin University of Art and Klaus Huber at Freiburg Music College. In 1980, participated for the first time in the Darmstadt International Contemporary Music Summer Course, and presented works. Since then, he has been composing music mainly in Europe and Japan.

In 2018 the opera “Matsukaze” was premiered in Japan at the New National Theater in Tokyo in February. In addition, in July the opera “earthquake / dream” is premiered worldwide at the Stuttgart Opera in Germany. In Japan, I participated in the Takefu International Music Festival since 1994 and started a workshop, and since 2001 I am a music director of the music festival.

Photo：Takefu International Music Festival　/　Kaz Ishikawa

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