Teizo Matsumura


Teizo Matsumura was a Japanese composer and poet.
Orphaned and suffering from tuberculosis, during his recovery in the early 1950s he began to write both haiku and music. He studied with Tomojiro Ikenouchi and Akira Ifukube. He was influenced by Ravel and Stravinsky, but also Asian traditions. He was Professor Emeritus of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
Matsumura is best known for his opera Chinmoku based on the novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo. This has been recorded.
Matsumura is the recipient of the 1974 UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers and of the 1978 Suntory Music Award.

Major works