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In Memoriam: Akira Nishimura (1953-2023)

Sep. 21, 2023

We are deeply saddened to report the passing of Zen-On composer, Akira Nishimura on September 7, 2023. He would have celebrated his 70th birthday on the following day. Zen-On notes,

"Nishimura was one of the closest composers Zen-On has worked with over the years. We express our deepest condolences to his family,  friends and colleagues. Zen-On has published numerous works by Nishimura. We will continue to publish his work and promote his outstanding catalogue of compositions worldwide in order to pass on his legacy to future generations."

Nishimura served as a host for the NHK radio program “Gendai no Ongaku” (Music of Today) from April 2003-March 2009 and April 2015-September 2023. Gendai no Ongaku is presenting two special programs in honor of the late composer on September 17 and 24. 

                                           

Akira Nishimura was born in Osaka in 1953. He studied composition and musical theory to the post graduate level at the Tokyo University of the Arts.  In 1977, Nishimura won the first of what would be numerous prizes at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Composition Competition with Heterophony for string quartet (1975) and the Luigi Dallapiccola Composition Award with Mutazioni (1977). In 1980, Kecak (1979) was selected as the best work at the International Rostrum of Composers, and Nishimura won multiple awards at the ISCM World Music Days with ODE for Ekstasis in 1982 and then again in 1984, 1988 and 1990. The Otaka Prizes were awarded to him in 1988 for Heterophony for two pianos and orchestra (1987), in 1992 for A Ring of Lights, double concerto for violin, piano and orchestra, and in 1993 for Into the Lights of the Eternal Chaos. In 2001, he was awarded the ExxonMobil Music Prize and in 2004, the Suntory Music Award. Akira Nishimura was composer-in-residence of the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (1993-94) and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (1994-97).

Nishimura principally employs heterophony, a characteristic device of Asian traditional music, subtly transforming the intervals, rhythm and melody of his dense multi-layered textures. Though similar to 'micropolyphony' of Ligeti, an Asian perspective informs his technique. Some works are heterophonic melodically, such as Heterophony (1975), and some rhythmically, as in Kecak; the superimposition of trills, tremolos and harmonics contributes to the more complex textures of his later works. 

Akira Nishimura has been commissioned by many overseas music festivals and ensembles such as ULTIMA Contemporary Music Festival Oslo, Octobre en Normandie, Arditti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, ELISION Ensemble, Hannover Society of Contemporary Music and many others.

Nishimura’s opera Asters, commissioned by the New National Theatre, Tokyo, was premiered in 2019 to great acclaim. 

Akira Nishimura was a Professor at the Tokyo College of Music and the Musical Director of the Izumi Sinfonietta Osaka, Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy & Festival.

To learn more about Akira Nishimura, visit: zen-on.co.jp.

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