Motoo Ōtaguro (大田黒 元雄, Ōtaguro Motoo) (January 11, 1893 – January 23, 1979) was a Japanese music critic. He is considered a pioneer of music criticism in Japan.[1]
Motoo Ōtaguro | |
---|---|
大田黒 元雄 | |
![]() Motoo Ōtaguro in 1917 | |
Born | |
Died | January 23, 1979 Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan | (aged 86)
Occupation | Music critic |
Biography
editEarly life
editŌtaguro was born in Tokyo, on January 11, 1893.[2] He was born into a wealthy family; his father was Jūgoro Ōtaguro , an entrepreneur influential in the adoption of hydroelectricity in Japan.[3] Ōtaguro had private piano lessons with Hanka Petzold . He graduated from Odawara High School .[4]
Career
editAfter graduating from high school, Ōtaguro went abroad to study economics at the London School of Economics from 1913 to 1914. He attended many concerts of contemporary music during his time in London. He became acquainted with works by English contemporaries such as Frederick Delius and Ralph Vaughan Williams as well as other European composers such as Claude Debussy and Alexander Scriabin.[5] He went back to Japan in July 1914 for a summer vacation but was unable to return to London due to the outbreak of World War I.[6] Starting his career as a music writer, he published his first two books in 1915. One of these was From Bach to Schoenberg,[nb 1] which covered sixty European composers and was the first Japanese book to cover modern composers such as Arnold Schoenberg and Claude Debussy.[4][nb 2]
From 1915 to 1917, Ōtaguro held private concerts in his Ōmori-sannō mansion, where he played contemporary pieces on his own piano, despite not being a professional musician.[8] These concerts were held for an audience of about 20 people, including composer Keizō Horiuchi and critic Kōichi Nomura . Despite their small and private audiences, the concerts had programs printed elaborately by Kiyoshi Hasegawa, who lived in Ōmori-sannō at the time.[9] Ōtaguro held a piano concert at the Tokyo YMCA center titled "Scriabin–Debussy Evening"[nb 4] on December 9, 1916.[11] This was the first concert in Japan dedicated to either of the composers' music.[12][nb 5]
In 1916, Ōtaguro started the publishing company Ongaku to Bungakusha . It published books and a magazine titled Ongaku to Bungaku,[6][nb 6] which ran until 1919.[4] He revised and compiled essays he wrote for the magazine into multiple books.[4] By 1921, the company ceased its activities. Ōtaguro went on to publish books for Daiichi Shobō in 1925, who also reprinted works published by Ongaku to Bungakusha.[9]
He was a founding member of the photography group Photographic Art Society[nb 7], which was active from 1921 to 1924. Other members of the group included Shinzō and Rosō Fukuhara.[15] The society was affiliated with a magazine, Shashin geijutsu, published from June 1921 until September 1923;[16] Ōtaguro contributed an article, "Shashin shoron" (写真小論), to its first issue. His photography career was short lived, and he did not get much recognition as a photographer.[17]
After World War II, he made appearances on the NHK radio quiz show Hanashi no Izumi .[18]
Ōtaguro was recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit, one of Japan's highest honors, in 1977.[19]
Death
editŌtaguro died at 86 from cholangiocarcinoma at the Tokyo Welfare Pension Hospital (now JCHO Tokyo Shinjuku Medical Center ) on January 23, 1979. He was hospitalized since September the preceding year.[20] He is buried at Somei Cemetery .[21]
Parts of his residence in Suginami, where he lived since 1933,[22] were transformed into an urban park called Ōtaguro Park, which opened on October 1, 1981.[19]
Ōtaguro's personal collection of books, sheet music, and other material was donated to the NHK by his daughter. The collection was transferred to the Documentation Center of Modern Japanese Music on September 24, 1998. In July 2010, the entire collection of the Documentation Center was transferred to the Meiji Gakuin University's Archives of Modern Japanese Music.[23]
Writings
editTranslations
editIn addition to his own writing, Ōtaguro translated many books on music,[24] starting in 1919 with Music on Water[nb 8], a collection of translated essays by various writers.[25]
Ōtaguro's translated works by several English[12] and French composers, as well as historical biographies about composers. Biographies translated by him included works such as André Pirro's biography about Johann Sebastian Bach, which was the first biographic book about Bach published in Japan,[26] and Marie Bobillier's[nb 9] biography of Joseph Haydn.
Poetry
editŌtaguro published a few books of his own poetry, including Haru no enbu,[nb 10] and Nichirin.[nb 11] He also published poetry in the magazine Kamen.[nb 12][27]
Ōtaguro wrote the lyrics for Dan Ikuma's song cycle Tōkyō shōkei.[nb 13][28]
Personal life
editŌtaguro married his wife, Chizue Hirota, in 1919.[19]
Ōtaguro's other keen interests included baseball, sumō, detective stories, and poetry.[15]
Bibliography
editTitles have been modified to use shinjitai kanji. Katakana transliterations of names are unmodified and reflect the original publication.[nb 14]
As author
edit- 1915, Bach to Schoenberg (バッハよりシェーンベルヒ, Bahha yori Shēnberuhi)
- 1915, Gendai eikoku gekisakka: hyōron ken shōkai (現代英国劇作家 評論兼紹介)
- 1916, Inshō to kansō (印象と感想)
- 1916, Kindai ongaku seizui (近代音楽精髄)
- 1917, Gion no kyaku: Daiichi kashū (祇園の客 第一歌集)
- 1917, Haru no enbu: Shishū (春の円舞 詩集)
- 1917, Kageki taikan (歌劇大観)
- 1917, Nichirin: Shishū (日輪 詩集)
- 1917, Roshia buyō (露西亜舞踊)
- 1917, Tōkyō shōkei: Daini kashū (東京小景 第二歌集)
- 1917, Yōgaku yawa (洋楽夜話)
- 1917, Zoku yōgaku yawa (続洋楽夜話)
- 1918, Zoku Bahha yori Shēnberuhi (続バッハよりシェーンベルヒ)
- 1919, Ongaku nikki shō (音楽日記抄)
- 1919, Daini ongaku nikki shō (第二音楽日記抄)
- 1920, Daisan ongaku nikki shō (第三音楽日記抄)
- 1920, Debyusshii igo: Ongaku ronshū (デビュッシイ以後 音楽論集)
- 1920, Kagee (影絵)
- 1920, Meikyoku taikan (名曲大観)
- 1920, Takujō gakuwa (卓上楽話)
- 1925, Hanayakanaru kaisō (華やかなる回想)
- 1926, Ongaku no yokogao: Ongaku zuihitsu senshū (音楽の横顔 音楽随筆選集)
- 1932, Debussy (ドビュツシイ, Dobyusshii)
- 1932, Taiseiyō sonohoka (大西洋そのほか)
- 1933, Kageki (歌劇)
- 1933, Ongaku mangekyō (音楽万華鏡)
- 1933, Ongaku no shūi: Esseishū (音楽の周囲 エッセイ集)
- 1933, Kimyōna sonzai (奇妙な存在)
- 1934, Zuihitsushū kirakuna sanpo (随筆集 気楽な散歩)
- 1935, Ongaku seikatsu 20-nen (音楽生活二十年)
- 1935, Wagner (ワアグナア, Wāgunā)
- 1937, Kyūjitsu no sho (休日の書)
- 1940, Ongaku sonohoka (音楽そのほか)
- 1950, Ongaku no mado (音楽の窓)
- 1951, Dobyusshii hyōden (ドビュツシイ評伝)
- 1958, Oshare shinshi (おしゃれ紳士)
- 1962, Kageki daijiten (歌劇大事典)
- 1970, Haikara shinshi banashi (はいから紳士譚)
As translator
edit- 1919, Mizu no ue no ongaku (水の上の音楽) (collection of translated essays by Gerald Cumberland, Francis Grierson, Cyril Scott, Lawrence Gilman and Carl Van Vechten, also including two of Ōtaguro's essays)
- 1920, Gerald Cumberland: Set Down in Malice: A Book of Reminiscences (Bishō to chōshō (微笑と嘲笑))
- 1920, Petrushka (ペトルーシュカ, Petorūshuka)
- 1925, Adam Carse: The History of Orchestration (Kangengaku oyobi kangengakuhō no rekishiteki kenkyū (管絃楽及び管絃楽法の歴史的研究))
- 1926, Cyril Scott: The Philosophy of Modernism, in its Connection with Music (Ongaku ni kanrenseru kindai shugi no tetsugaku (音楽に関聯せる近代主義の哲学)
- 1926, Romain Rolland: Kinsei ongaku no reimei (近世音楽の黎明)
- 1928, Romain Rolland: Sugishi hi no ongakuka (過ぎし日の音楽家)
- 1928, Jean Cocteau: Le Coq et l'Arlequin (Ondori to arurukan (雄鳥とアルルカン))
- 1930, Cecil Gray: The History of Music (Ongaku geijutsushi (音楽芸術史))
- 1930, Romain Rolland: Konnichi no ongakuka (今日の音楽家)
- 1930, Cecil Gray: Survey of Contemporary Music (現代音楽概観 (Gendai ongaku gaikan))
- 1931, Paul Bekker: Beethoven (Beetōven (ベエトオヴェン))
- 1931, Claude Debussy: Monsieur Croche, antidilettante (ムッシュウ・クロッシュ・アンティディレッタント 音楽評論集 (Musshū kurosshu antidirettanto: Ongaku hyōronshū))
- 1931, Claude Debussy: Ongakuron (音樂論)
- 1931, André Pirro: Jean-Sébastien Bach (Bahha (バッハ))
- 1932, Michel Brenet: Haydn (Haidon (ハイドン))
- 1933, Arthur Schurig : Mozart (Mootsuaruto (モオツアルト)
- 1936, Igor Stravinsky: Chronicle of My Life (Sutoravinsukii jiden (ストラヴィンスキイ自伝))
- 1937, Constant Lambert: Music Ho! A Study of Music in Decline (Gendai ongakuron (現代音楽論))
- 1938, Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi: Kindai ongaku kaisōroku (近代音楽回想録)
- 1938, George Dyson: Ongaku bunkashi (音楽文化史)
- 1939, William Murdoch: Chopin: His Life (Shopan hyōden (ショパン評伝))
- 1940, Felix Weingartner: Lebenserinnerungen (闘争の一生 ワインガルトナア自傳 (Tōsō no isshō: Waingarutonaa jiden))
- 1942, Cecil Gray: Predicaments: Or Music and the Future (Ongaku no genzai oyobi shōrai (音楽の現在及び将来))
Explanatory notes
edit- ^ Literal translation of Japanese title, Bahha yori Shēnberuhi (バッハよりシェーンベルヒ).
- ^ Although sometimes credited as introducing Debussy, Ōtaguro was not the first writer in Japan to mention him. Arō Naito wrote an article mentioning him in October 1908, and Kafū Nagai wrote one the following month.[7]
- ^ Dairoji (大ろじ), literal translation "big alley".
- ^ The advertisement for the concert in the December 1916 issue of Ongaku to Bungaku gives the aforementioned English title, as well as the Japanese title Sukuriabin to Debyusshii no yū (スクリアビンとデビュッシイの夕).[10]
- ^ There were five other performances of Debussy's music in Tokyo before, the first one being a performance of Sarabande from Pour le piano by Rudolph Ernest Reuter on November 24, 1909.[13] However, Ōtaguro's concert was the first one with a program heavily featuring Debussy's music.[14]
- ^ The title of the magazine translates to Music and Literature.
- ^ Shashin geijutsusha (写真芸術社); in the orthography of the time, 寫眞藝術社
- ^ Literal translation of Japanese title, Mizu no ue no ongaku (水の上の音楽)
- ^ Published under her pseudonym Michel Brenet.
- ^ Haru no enbu: Shishū (春の円舞 詩集), literal translation Waltz of Spring: Poetry Collection.
- ^ Nichirin: Shishū (日輪 詩集), literal translation Sunflower: Poetry Collection.
- ^ Kamen (仮面); in the orthography of the time, 假面, literal translation Mask.
- ^ Tōkyō shōkei (東京小景), literal translation Small Landscapes in Tokyo.
- ^ For example, Ōtaguro wrote Schoenberg as Shēnberuhi (シェーンベルヒ), but modern writing uses Shēnberuku (シェーンベルク).
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Nunokawa & Numabe 2008; Aoyagi 2015; Yasar 2018, p. 202.
- ^ Tanaka 1986, p. 83.
- ^ Nagahara 2017, p. 75.
- ^ a b c d Nunokawa & Numabe 2008.
- ^ Numabe 2016, p. 5.
- ^ a b Numabe 2016, p. 6.
- ^ Kasaba 1986, p. 36.
- ^ Numabe 2016, pp. 6–7.
- ^ a b Aoyagi 2007.
- ^ Ongaku to bungaku 1916.
- ^ Nohara 2020, p. 95.
- ^ a b Arayashiki 2018, p. 154.
- ^ Kasaba 1986, pp. 30, 32.
- ^ Kasaba 1986, pp. 31–32.
- ^ a b Nihon no shashinka 2005.
- ^ Shirayama 2001, p. 6.
- ^ Shibuya Kuritsu Shōtō Bijutsukan.
- ^ Aoyagi 2015.
- ^ a b c Ōtaguro Kōen 2015.
- ^ Asahi shinbun 1979.
- ^ Tōkyōto Kōen Shingikai 2002, p. 11.
- ^ Suginamigaku kurabu 2014.
- ^ Suenaga & Morimoto 2013, pp. 305–306.
- ^ Arayashiki 2018, pp. 154–155.
- ^ Listed as the first translation in the list of publications by Ōtaguro in Cumberland 1920, p. 146, date per Webcat Plus.
- ^ Higuchi 2012, p. 5.
- ^ Tanaka 1986, p. 84.
- ^ Nakusosu myūjikku raiburarī.
Works cited
edit- Aoyagi, Izumiko (November 5, 2007). "Ōtaguro Motoo no piano" 大田黒元雄のピアノ. Aoyagi Izumiko no MERDE! nikki 青柳いづみこのMERDE!日記 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2008-12-01.
- Aoyagi, Izumiko (October 2015). "Aoyagi Izumiko no yubisaki de oshaberi: Dai 13-kai: Ōtaguro Motoo no "piano no yūbe" no koto" 青柳いづみこの指先でおしゃべり 第13回 大田黒元雄の「ピアノの夕べ」のこと. Buraabo (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-28 – via Pianisuto · bunpitsuka Aoyagi Izumiko ofisharu saito.
- Arayashiki, Toru (2018) [1998]. "Frederick Delius and Grez Sur-Loing: Some Japanese Perspectives". In Carley, Lionel (ed.). Frederick Delius: Music, Art and Literature. New York: Routledge. pp. 154–167. ISBN 978-0-429-45559-9.
- Cumberland, Gerald (1920). Bishō to chōshō dai: Daini yakuchoshū 微笑と嘲笑 第二訳著集 [Set Down in Malice] (in Japanese). Translated by Ōtaguro, Motoo. Tokyo: Ongaku to Bungakusha. doi:10.11501/961601. Retrieved 2022-01-15 – via Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan dejitaru korekushon.
- Higuchi, Ryuichi (July 5, 2012). "Bach-Reception and Musicology in Japan". Meiji Gakuin Daigaku Geijutsugaku kenkyū 明治学院大学藝術学研究. 22. Tokyo: Meiji Gakuin Daigaku Geijutsu Gakkai: 1–6. hdl:10723/1175. ISSN 1880-2745.
- Kasaba, Eiko (1986). "La musique de Debussy au Japon". Cahiers Debussy (in French). 10. Saint-Germain-en-Laye: Centre de documentation Claude Debussy: 28–44. ISSN 0395-1200.
- Nagahara, Hiromu (2017). "The State as Critic and Consumer". Tokyo Boogie-Woogie: Japan's Pop Era and Its Discontents. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 66–107. ISBN 978-0-674-97169-1.
- Nohara, Yasuko (March 31, 2020). "Yamada Kōsaku no Sukuryābin juyō: Ongaku no hōetsukyō o motomete" 山田耕筰のスクリャービン受容――音楽の法悦境を求めて―― [Yamada's Reception of Scriabin's Music and Thought: In Search of Musical Ecstasy]. Musashino ongaku daigaku kenkyū kiyō 武蔵野音楽大学研究紀要 (in Japanese). 51. Tokyo: Musashino Ongaku Daigaku: 83–108. ISSN 0580-2466. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- Numabe, Shin-ichi (October 17, 2016). "Nihon no kindai ongaku wa koko kara hajimatta. Ōtaguro Motoo to "piano no yūbe"" 日本の近代音楽はここから始まった 大田黒元雄と「ピアノの夕べ」. Ōtaguro Motoo no piano 100nen no yoin 大田黒元雄のピアノ ―100年の余韻― [Motoo Ohtaguro's Piano - A Century of Resonance] (booklet) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kojima rokuon. pp. 5–17. OCLC 1081083571. ALCD-7200.
- Nunokawa, Yumiko; Numabe, Shin-ichi (May 2008). "Motoo Ohtaguro and Serge Prokofiev: An Unexpected Friendship". Three Oranges Journal. 15. London: The Serge Prokofiev Foundation. ISSN 1472-9946. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- Shirayama, Mari (2001). Shashin zasshi no kiseki: JCII Raiburarī 10 shuunen kinenten 写真雑誌の軌跡 JCIIライブラリー10周年記念 [Traces of Camera Magazines: JCII Library 10th Anniversary Exhibition] (in Japanese). Tokyo: JCII Raiburarī. NCID BB04894896.
- Suenaga, Rieko; Morimoto, Mieko (March 2013). "Nihon kindai ongakukan shozō shiryō shōkai: Ōtaguro Motoo bunko: Dobyusshī "Pereasu to Merizando" shohan sukoa o megutte" 日本近代音楽館所蔵資料紹介 大田黒元雄文庫収蔵 ドビュッシー『ペレアスとメリザンド』初版スコアをめぐって (PDF). Gengo bunka 言語文化 (in Japanese). 30. Tokyo: Meiji Gakuin Daigaku Gengo Bunka Kenkyūjo: 299–313. ISSN 0288-1195. OCLC 5185898471.
- Tanaka, Eiichi (1986). "Ōtaguro Motoo" 大田黒元雄. In Fundō, Junsaku; Tadokoro, Hitoshi; Miura, Hitoshi (eds.). Nihon gendaishi jiten 日本現代詩辞典 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Ōfūsha. pp. 83–84. ISBN 978-4-27-302072-9. OCLC 15423114.
- Yasar, Kerim (2018). "Sound and Motion". Electrified Voices: How the Telephone, Phonograph, and Radio Shaped Modern Japan, 1868–1945. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 192–224. ISBN 978-0-231-18713-8.
- "Ongaku hyōron no Ōtaguro-san shikyo" 音楽評論の大田黒さん死去. Asahi shinbun 朝日新聞 (in Japanese) (Evening ed.). Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha. January 23, 1979. p. 11.
- "Tōkyō shōkei" 東京小景. Nakusosu myūjikku raiburarī ナクソス・ミュージック・ライブラリー (in Japanese). Nakusosu Japan Kabushiki Kaisha. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
- "Ōtaguro Motoo" 大田黒元雄. Nihon no shashinka 日本の写真家 [Biographic Dictionary of Japanese Photography] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Nichigai Asoshiētsu. 2005. p. 84. ISBN 978-4-816-91948-0. Despite the English-language alternative title, all in Japanese.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - "Sukuriabin to Debyusshii no yū" スクリアビンとデビュッシイの夕 [Scriabin-Debussy Evening]. Ongaku to bungaku 音楽と文学 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Ongaku to Bungakusha. December 1916. Retrieved 2022-01-02 – via "Nihon piano bunkashi" Kōta no koramu.
- "Ōtaguro Kōen to wa" 大田黒公園とは [What is Ōtaguro Park?]. Ōtaguro Kōen 大田黒公園 (in Japanese). Hakone Ueki Landscape Construction Co., Ltd. 2015. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- "Shashin geijutsu no jidai: Taishōki no toshi sansakushatachi" 写真芸術の時代 ―大正期の都市散策者たち― (in Japanese). Shibuya Kuritsu Shōtō Bijutsukan. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
- "100nen no neiro o kizamu: Ōtaguro Kōen piano monogatari" 100年の音色を刻む 大田黒公園ピアノ物語 (PDF). Suginamigaku kurabu すぎなみ学倶楽部 (in Japanese). Suginami Kuyakusho. 2014. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- "Kubu reien no kanri ni tsuite" tōshin ~Aoyama reien: Rekishi no mori, toki no nagare ga tsumikasanaru kūkan~ 「区部霊園の管理について」答申 〜青山霊園 歴史の森、時の流れが積み重なる空間〜 (PDF) (Report) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Tōkyōto Kōen Shingikai. December 5, 2002. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
- "Mizu no ue no ongaku" 水の上の音楽. Webcat Plus (bibliographic entry) (in Japanese). Kokuritsu Jōhōgaku Kenkyūjo. Retrieved 2022-01-15.