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Zen-On Celebrates the 120th Anniversary of Hisato Osawa's Birth with the Release of Three New Publications

Oct. 29, 2026

In honor of the 120th anniversary of Hisato Osawa's birth, Zen-On has released three new publications of his music. 

Osawa's Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra, completed in March 1947, was the first Japanese concerto for saxophone. The work was premiered in the same month on JOBK Radio, performed by Osawa and the NHK Osaka Broadcasting Orchestra with Kiyokazu Misawa as the soloist.

Osawa also composed the first Japanese concerto for trumpet. His Concerto for Trumpet Solo and Orchestra, completed in March 1950, received its radio premiere in October 1950, performed by Osawa and the Osaka Radio Symphony with trumpeter Shizuo Adachi. Mikiko Ikushima notes that this work is scored for unusual forces: Osawa integrates an orchestra consisting of one flute (doubling piccolo), one oboe and strings with a big band consisting of four saxophones (doubling clarinets), four trumpets, four trombones, piano and percussion.

After the war, Osawa turned to composing music for the middle class, and was particularly passionate about symphonic jazz. This concerto was a result of this new venture. Osawa’s concerto output began with the Piano Concerto No. 1 in A Minor and the Double Bass Concerto from his Boston days, followed by his Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor written in Paris. After his return to Japan, he composed the Violin Concertino “Chinese Poem,”Piano Concerto No. 3 in A flat Major “Kamikaze,” Saxophone Concerto, and this concerto. By 1950, there were approximately 20 concertos written by Japanese composers, seven of them by Osawa. All seven were either the first of their kind in Japan or among the earliest examples, a testament to Osawa’s extraordinary creative output.

Finally, Osawa's Quintet in C minor, completed in Boston in March 1933, is Osawa’s "greatest work in the field of chamber music," notes Ikushima. It was composed only two and a half years after he began studying composition. A trial performance was given by Jesús Maria Sanromá, the first solo pianist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Durrell String Quartet.

Interestingly, the piece uses “quarter tones” which was a cutting-edge composition technique at the time. Osawa first used this technique in 1932 in his Sonata for cello and piano in G major, and he continued to refine his use of the quarter-tone year after year. After the piano quintet, he also used it in his Double Bass Concerto. Throughout all the movements, the key, meter and tempo change distinctly in each section, resulting in music that is brimming with brilliance and vitality.

About the Composer
Hisato Osawa was born in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture on August 1, 1906. After graduation from Kwansei Gakuin College of Commerce in 1930, he left for the United States. First, Osawa enrolled at Boston University School of Music and, later, at the New England Conservatory, where he studied under Frederic S. Converse. Osawa composed symphonies, concertos, and chamber music while in Boston. In 1933, the year he graduated from Boston University, Osawa conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra (the first Japanese person to do so) in a performance of his Little Symphony.

Osawa went to Paris in 1934 and studied under Paul Dukas and Nadia Boulanger. The next year, he conducted Orchestre de Pasdeloup to premiere his Second Symphony, Second Piano Concerto, and a song accompanied by orchestra, Une voix à ‘Sakura.’  His avant-garde style in composition and elaborate direction in conducting led to a great success. Osawa’s distinguished international musical career was rare for a Japanese of his period.

After returning to Japan in 1936, Osawa began teaching at Kobe College. He composed a wide variety of genres ranging from music for radio programs, stage plays, films, jazz-style concertos, to school songs. He acted not only as composer, arranger, and conductor, but also as radio producer during his days in Japan. After creating more than 800 composed and arranged pieces, Osawa passed away suddenly at the age of 47 on October 28, 1953.

The 2003 release of some of Osawa’s masterworks has triggered a revaluation of his contributions to music. Osawa is again recognized as one of the most important composers and conductors in pre- and post-World War II Japan.

To learn more about Hisato Osawa, visit zen-on.co.jp.

Hisato Osawa
Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra (1947)
1.1.2.1-1.2.1.0-perc:timp/cyms/sus.cym/tamb/woodblk-pf-str, solo sax
14.5'

Concerto for Trumpet Solo and Orchestra (1950)
1(pic).1.2asax(cl).2tsax(cl).0-0.4.4.0-perc:drm/timp/woodblk/tom-t-pf-str, solo tpt
13'

Quintet in C minor (1933)
2vn.va.vc.pf
32'

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