Moto Osada
Japanese composer Moto Osada’s music has been described as “individual and original” by the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau and “fascinating” by the New York Concert Review. Remarkable for its unique blend of harmonic textures, Mr. Osada’s music often draws on Japanese themes and traditional instruments to augment Western harmonies. He also frequently incorporates the latest in music technology ranging from electronic equipment to computer-generated sounds.
Mr. Osada has composed for a wide array of musical combinations ranging from works for full orchestra to chamber and solo works for various instruments. He has written extensively for film and television, as well as for the theater and dance media. Increasingly in demand nationally and internationally, his works have been heard in such countries as the United States, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and his native Japan.
During the 2004-2005 season, Mr. Osada’s JoHaKyu for cello and piano was presented as part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s distinguished Double Exposure series in New York. Later, in April 2005, his Take the Six for marimba and electronics was featured on the Cutting Edge Concerts, also in New York.
Highlights of past seasons include four recent premieres: In June 2005, Three Bagatelles for violin, cello and piano was premiered on the Weaving Japanese Sounds (Music of Modern Japan) concert series at Yamaha Artist Services’ Piano Salon in New York. In August 2004 cellist Beata Söderberg performed Mr. Osada’s Meditation for cello solo in Linköping, Sweden. In February 2004, the noted Katz-Shteinberg Duo premiered Kaguyama Dance for viola and piano at New York’s Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall), and in September 2003, Take the Six for marimba and electronics was presented to great acclaim at Nagano’s Raisin Hall in Japan.
Highlights of recent seasons include a June 2006 performance of Mifune by Paul Neubauer of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the OK Mozart Festival in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and, in February 2004, the premiere of Kaguyama Dance was presented to great acclaim by the noted Katz-Shteinberg Duo at New York’s Weill Hall. During the 2004-2005 season, Osada’s JoHaKyu was presented as part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Double Exposure series. Also notable was the April 2003 concert at New York’s Klavierhaus devoted entirely to Osada’s music and a live radio broadcast in 2002 of violist Shmuel Katz’s performance of Mifune at the Jerusalem Music Centre. Honors include grants from ASCAP, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust, and the American Composers Forum. Mr. Osada has been invited to attend several prestigious residencies, notably the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Study and Conference Center in Italy in 2006.
- kaguyama dance (2003)
- Bagatelles