Biography
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Born
21 September 1938 (age 85)
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Born In
Tokyo, Japan
Yuji Takahashi (高橋悠治) was born in Tokyo in 1938, where he studied composition with Minao Shibata (柴田南雄) and Roh Ogura (小倉朗), and piano with Hiroshi Ito. In 1961, he made a sensational debut at a modern music festival sponsored by the Nippon Broadcasting Company, substituting at the last minute for the regularly scheduled soloist. This marked his emergence as a leading exponent of new piano music. The start of his career as a composer can be traced to 1962 and a piece for electronics and twelve instruments. At about the same time, along with fellow composers Toshi Ichiyanagi (一柳慧) and Kenji Kobayashi, he organized an ensemble for new music, the New Directions group.
Sponsored by the Ford Foundation, Takahashi lived in Berlin from 1963 to 1965, where he studied with Iannis Xenakis (his 1997 essay “Xenakis in Kyoto”, thoughts on Xenakis’ music, ideas and teaching, can be found on his website http://www.suigyu.com/yuji/ ). In 1966, supported by a grant from the J. D. Rockefeller III. Fund, he came to New York to compose music using computers, and was subsequently a highly visible and influential participant in new music activities in the U. S., with appearances at the Berkshire Music Center, the Ravinia Music Festival, the Stratford (Ontario) Festival and The Center for the Creative and Performing Arts at the State University of New York at Buffalo. During this time, he was a soloist with such ensembles as the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic. He gave solo recitals at the Athens Festival, the Stockholm Festival, the Oxford Bach Festival, the Domaine Musical in Paris, the Signaal series in Amsterdam, the Twice Series in Los Angeles, the Princeton Chamber Concerts and the Evenings for New Music and New Images of Sound in New York. In 1966 and 1968 he performed and spoke at the UNESCO International Music Council Congresses in Manila and New York and wrote a work performed at the Japanese Music Pavilion at the 1970 Osaka World’s Fair.
Takahashi remained in the U. S. until 1972, teaching piano at Indiana University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 1971, during his residence in San Francisco, he performed 3 of his own electronic works (Time, Yeguen, and Bridges) at one of the first informal concerts (called “Bring Your Own Pillow” at the Hansen Fuller Gallery on Grant Avenue) of what was to become the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players.
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