Takehisa Kosugi
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese composer
and violin
ist associated with the Fluxus
movement.
Kosugi studied musicology at the Tokyo University of the Arts and graduated in 1962.
Kosugi is probably best known for the experimental music that he created in 1960–75, first in the early 1960s with the Tokyo-based seven-member ensemble Group Ongaku (グループ・音楽/"music group") and thereafter as a solo artist and with itinerant octet Taj Mahal Travellers
(1969–75). Kosugi's primary instrument is the violin
, which he sends through various echo-chambers and effects to create a bizarre, jolting music quite at odds with the drones of other more well-known Fluxus
artists, such as Tony Conrad
, John Cale
and Henry Flynt
.
In 1963 Takehisa Kosugi composed for Fluxus 1 a musical piece called Theatre Music in the form of a rectangle of cardstock that bore the trace of a spiral of moving feet. This was paired with the instructions: "Keep walking intently".
Since 1978, Kosugi has served as music director for the Merce Cunningham
Dance Company, and lives in Osaka, Japan. His 1960s career with Group Ongaku is extensively explained in the 32-page essay "Experimental Japan," which appears in the book Japrocksampler
(Bloomsbury, 2007), by author/musician/occultist Julian Cope
. The book also features a detailed 12-page biography of Kosugi's Taj Mahal Travellers, the music of which Julian Cope
describes as being "reminiscent of the creaking rigging of the un-manned Mary Celeste". According to Cope, Kosugi's finest work is the 1975 solo album Catch-wave (CBS/Sony).
Kosugi has received grants from The JDR 3rd Fund in 1966 and 1977. He has also received a DAAD fellowship grant to reside in Berlin
in 1981.
Kosugi received a John Cage
Award for Music from Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts in 1994.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist associated with the Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
movement.
Kosugi studied musicology at the Tokyo University of the Arts and graduated in 1962.
Kosugi is probably best known for the experimental music that he created in 1960–75, first in the early 1960s with the Tokyo-based seven-member ensemble Group Ongaku (グループ・音楽/"music group") and thereafter as a solo artist and with itinerant octet Taj Mahal Travellers
Taj Mahal Travellers
The Taj Mahal Travellers were a Japanese experimental music ensemble founded in 1969 by former Group Ongaku leader and Fluxus member Takehisa Kosugi. The rest of the group were several years younger than Kosugi, and were all inspired by the spirit of the day...
(1969–75). Kosugi's primary instrument is the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, which he sends through various echo-chambers and effects to create a bizarre, jolting music quite at odds with the drones of other more well-known Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
artists, such as Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer...
, John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
and Henry Flynt
Henry Flynt
Henry Flynt is a philosopher, avant-garde musician, anti-art activist and exhibited artist often associated with Conceptual Art, Fluxus and Nihilism.-Background:...
.
In 1963 Takehisa Kosugi composed for Fluxus 1 a musical piece called Theatre Music in the form of a rectangle of cardstock that bore the trace of a spiral of moving feet. This was paired with the instructions: "Keep walking intently".
Since 1978, Kosugi has served as music director for the Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
Dance Company, and lives in Osaka, Japan. His 1960s career with Group Ongaku is extensively explained in the 32-page essay "Experimental Japan," which appears in the book Japrocksampler
Japrocksampler
Japrocksampler: How the Post-war Japanese Blew Their Minds on Rock 'n' Roll, was written by author and musician Julian Cope and published by Bloomsbury on September 3, 2007...
(Bloomsbury, 2007), by author/musician/occultist Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
. The book also features a detailed 12-page biography of Kosugi's Taj Mahal Travellers, the music of which Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
describes as being "reminiscent of the creaking rigging of the un-manned Mary Celeste". According to Cope, Kosugi's finest work is the 1975 solo album Catch-wave (CBS/Sony).
Kosugi has received grants from The JDR 3rd Fund in 1966 and 1977. He has also received a DAAD fellowship grant to reside in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1981.
Kosugi received a John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
Award for Music from Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts in 1994.
Works
- Anima 1 (1961)
- Micro 1 (1961)
- Organic Music (1962)
- Anima 2 (1962)
- Chironomy 1 (1962)
- Ear Drum Event (1962)
- South No. 1 (1962)
- Theater Music (1963)
- Malika 5 (1963)
- To W (1964)
- South No. 2 (1964)
- Anima 7 (1964)
- South No. 3 (1965)
- Tender Music (1965)
- Film & Film No. 4 (1965)
- Instrumental Music (1965)
- Piano (1966)
- Music G (1966)
- Eclipse (1967)
- Catch-Wave (1967)
- South No. 5 (1971)
- Catch-Wave '71 (1971)
- Piano-Wave-Mix (1972)
- Heterodyne (1972)
- Wave Code #e-1 (1974)
- Numbers/Tones (1976)
- S. E. Wave/E. W. Song (1976)
- South No. 8 (1979)
- Interspersion (1979)
- Untitled Piece (1980)
- Interspection for 54 Sounds (1980)
- Cycles (1981)
- Cycles for 7 Sounds (1981)
- The Fly (1982)
- Walking (1983)
- Intersection (1983)
- Spacings (1984)
- Melodies (1984)
- Assemblage (1986)
- +- (1987)
- 75 Letters and Improvisation (1987)
- Rhapsody (1987)
- Loops No. 1, No. 2 (1988)
- Spectra (1989)
- Violin Improvisations CD (1989)
- Module (1990)
- Streams (1991)
- Modulation (1991)
- Islands (1991)
- Reflections (1992)
- Metal Interspersion (1992)
- Transfigurations (1993)
- Streams (1993)
- Zoom (1993)
- Streams No. 2 (1994)
- Imitated Summer (1996)
- Illuminated Summer (1996)
- Tetrafeed (1997)
- Wave Code A-Z (1997)
Festival performances
- Festival d'Automne (Paris, 1978, 1979)
- The Festival at La Sainte-Baume (1978, 1979, 1980)
- The Holland Festival (1979)
- Opening Concert (Rome, 1980)
- Workshop Freie Musik (Berlin, 1984)
- Pro Musica Nova (Bremen, 1984)
- Almeida International Festival of Contemporary Music (London, 1986)
- Welt Musik Tage `87 (Cologne, 1987)
- Experimentelle Musik (München, 1986, 1988)
- Inventionen (Berlin, 1986, 1989, 1992)
- Biennale d'art contemporain (Lyon, 1993)
Sound installations
- Für Augen und Ohren (Berlin, 1980)
- Ecouter par les yeux (Paris, 1980)
- Soundings at Purchase (New York, 1981)
- New Music America Festival (Washington, 1983)
- Im Toten Winken (Hamburg, 1984)
- Klanginstallationen (Bremen, 1987)
- Kunst als Grenzbeschreitung: John Cage und die Moderne (München, 1991)
- Iventionen (Berlin, 1992)
- Musik Tage (Donaueschingen, 1993)
External links
- Takehisa Kosugi - List of Works
- Takehisa Kosugi biography from Lovely Music site