A composer with numerous awards at home and abroad! Ranking of Akira Miyoshi’s popular pieces

Arabesque of WavesMiyoshi Akira1rank/position

Akira Miyoshi: Arabesque of Waves / Shunya Yada (43rd Prizewinner Commemorative Concert, A1 Division [Gold Prize])

This is a work by Japanese composer Akira Miyoshi, featuring an elegant melody that evokes a shimmering water surface.

Included in the 1987 piano miniatures collection “Umi no Nikkichō” (A Sea Diary), the piece—true to its title, which refers to Arabic-style ornamental patterns—conjures scenes of delicate, unceasing motion in sound.

Its deft shifts between G-sharp minor and B major create sonorities that suggest a grown-up, bittersweet poignancy, like a fleeting shadow passing through brightness.

Also selected as a PTNA Competition set piece, it demands restrained pedaling and rich expressiveness, making it a guaranteed showpiece.

It is especially suited for elementary and middle school students who aspire to perform their dream piece with heartfelt expression.

Piano ConcertoMiyoshi Akira2rank/position

AKIRA MIYOSHI: Piano Concerto (Hiroko Nakamura, soloist)

Akira Miyoshi, born in 1933, was a composer who had a profound impact on contemporary Japanese music.

While enrolled in the French literature department at the University of Tokyo, he undertook the unusual step of studying abroad at the Paris Conservatory, where he was deeply influenced by French modern music.

His Piano Concerto is a gem that can be considered one of his signature works.

Incorporating Japanese elements in its harmony and melody while fusing techniques of contemporary music within the framework of classical music, it is Miyoshi’s world on full display.

The profound emotion arising from the interplay between piano and orchestra, and the development that swells from silence with mounting tension, are breathtaking.

Modern yet tinged with a certain nostalgia, it is truly the essence of contemporary Japanese music.

It’s a piece I highly recommend not only to classical music fans but also to anyone interested in Japan’s contemporary music.

A spring slopeMiyoshi Akira3rank/position

Akira Miyoshi / Spring Slope (1971) | Kimbo Ishii – NHK Symphony Orchestra

This is the theme song composed by Akira Miyoshi for Haru no Sakamichi (Spring Slope).

Haru no Sakamichi was the ninth NHK Taiga drama, broadcast from January 3 to December 26, 1971.

The title “Spring Slope” symbolizes the long and arduous path to establishing a peaceful era, and the drama portrays the life of master swordsman Yagyū Munenori, the Lord of Tajima.

The use of small percussion instruments is particularly effective.

Echo Patterns for Children’s Choir and OrchestraMiyoshi Akira4rank/position

Miyoshi: Kyô-mon for Childrenʼs Chorus and Orchestra(1984) / Kazuki YAMADA / TMSO

This is a piece themed around anti-war.

A children’s chorus and orchestra perform as one, using the nursery rhyme “Kagome Kagome” as a motif to evoke memories of war.

Premiered in 1984, it received high acclaim, including the Otaka Prize.

Employing a rich orchestral scoring and an array of percussion, it presents a three-dimensional sonic landscape and a distinctive musical language.

The innocent voices of the children and the complex orchestration are used in stark contrast, allowing listeners to experience, on a sensory level, the themes of “life and death” and “purity and fear.” It’s recommended not only for those interested in classical music, but also for anyone looking to explore contemporary Japanese music.

Suite for Two Pianos “The Four Seasons of Children’s Songs” No. 1: “Oborozukiyo (Hazy Moonlit Night)”Miyoshi Akira5rank/position

AKIRA MIYOSHI: Shoka no Shiki (Arrangement) 1. Oborozukiyo pf. Piano Duo FF (Miyuki Nakamura, Fumiko Shimada): Pianoduo FF (Nakamura Miyuki, Shimada Fumiko)

Akira Miyoshi is one of the leading composers of contemporary Japan.

His suite for two pianos, “The Four Seasons of Songs,” is a monumental piano work that portrays Japan’s traditional shoka (school songs) through the four seasons.

Originally written for chorus and two pianos, the piece—through Miyoshi’s distinctive harmonies and arrangements—achieves a depth of expression that differs from the original melodies’ beauty.

Though born from children’s songs, it combines classical sophistication with bold originality to create a truly one-of-a-kind sound world.

It’s a dreamlike work that lets you savor Japan’s seasons with a feeling both nostalgic and fresh.

Highly recommended for anyone who wishes to rediscover, at the piano, melodies every Japanese person knows.

Un VertMiyoshi Akira6rank/position

The 9th Akira Miyoshi Piano Competition Prizewinners’ Commemorative Concert / Rika Wakana

Akira Miyoshi is one of the leading composers of contemporary Japan.

After studying at the Paris Conservatory and honing his craft, he returned to Japan and released works across a wide range of genres, including choral music, instrumental pieces, orchestral works, and electronic music.

Among them, the piano piece “Un Verre” is known for brilliantly expressing Miyoshi’s unique worldview, centered on themes such as the “invisible” and the relationship between humans and nature.

Combining delicacy with intensity, this demanding work requires exceptional pianistic technique, yet it is an ambitious piece that offers a direct encounter with Miyoshi’s thought and aesthetics.

It is a highly recommended choice for advanced listeners familiar with contemporary music.

Etude in Sonata FormMiyoshi Akira7rank/position

Akira Miyoshi: Etude in the Form of a Sonata I

Akira Miyoshi is one of the composers who best represent contemporary Japan.

With an unconventional background—having studied French literature at the University of Tokyo and later honing his craft at the Paris Conservatory—he established a distinctive musical style that seeks to fuse Western music with Japanese traditional music.

Étude in Sonata Form is an étude he composed specifically for piano.

Published in 1967, it employs the classical sonata form while brimming with the allure of his uniquely meticulous motivic development and richly colored sonorities.

Grounded in profound musical knowledge, working on this étude offers the genuine joy of engaging with a modern masterpiece.

It is a work that every student of the piano is encouraged to play.