Kojiro Kobune, one of the founders of YSO, was born in Yokohama on
April 4 1907. He formed an ensemble of Harmonica
when he entered the junior high school. After graduation, he got a job at ‘Nihon
Gakki’ and learned composing and
conducting on his own while studying
piano tuning.
At
the age 21, he formed the choir ‘Robin’ and had the first concert. After that,
he began to conduct ‘Yokohama Mandolin Club’ and composed and arranged the
music for them. He met Teruko Kitazawa there, who was a very famous guitarist then
and they got married. That’s why YSO has often played the music of Harmonica
and Guitar.
In 1929, he released the song ‘Boon Boon 1-4’ written by Hakushu Kitahara.
On December 1932, he founded YSO with Satoe Yasojima. YSO had the first
concert at Port Opening Memorial Hall on July 1st 1933.
At that concert, the players consisted of both the professional and the
amateur. But gradually the professional players left from YSO.
Kobune was disappointed about it and turned toward the activity of composing.
The
members who stayed in YSO continued to play in small sized concerts. Kobune returned to YSO as a conductor and they
held the second concert in November 1936. Since then , the concerts of YSO has been continued
long and the 600th subscription concert was held in July 2007.
In
1936, he entered to ‘The federation of Japanese contemporary musicians’ in which there were many young composers, and
released some music pieces.
Those days ,Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin (1899-1977), a Russian pianist and composer, who had been exiled to Paris, came to Japan and published ‘Tcherepnin’s collection of Japanese composers’ music ’ .Kobune learned composing under Tcherepnin with Akira Ifukube during his staying in Japan and released “The first suite” “The first overture” “The festival season ” continuously and won prizes . Especially “The festival season” won the prize at the 2nd competition for Japanese composers of New Symphony Orchestra and became one of Kobune’s masterpieces.
In 1937, Kobune learned conducting under Joseph Rosenstock who was a regular conductor of New Symphony Orchestra (now NHK Symphony Orchestra) and composed “ Koto concerto” according to Rosenstock’s request.
On
January 28 ,1939 , he was recommended by
Japan ?Italy institute and was welcomed as a music ambassador to ISMEO (The Italian Institute For The Middle
and Far East ) in the Italy Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Just
after his leaving Tokyo, the news ,his work “String Quartet No.1” was selected
at the International Contemporary Music
Festival, arrived in Japan.
In
Italy ,he took the course of conducting at St. Cecilia Academy in Rome and
learned under Bernardine Molinari.
In April 1939, he was
invited to the 17th
International Contemporary Music Festival in Warsaw and “String Quartet No.1”
was played by Poland Radio Quartet. In
June, he held ‘Evening concert of Japanese Contemporary Music’ in Poland and
Finland . He conducted Poland philharmonic orchestra in Poland and Finland
broadcast symphony orchestra in Finland.
In Helsinki in Finland, he
was invited by Sibelius and had a wonderful time in his house talking about
composition, conducting ,art and so on with him.
This meeting with Sibelius
gave him a big and strong influence on
his music.
After having a concert in Rome and meeting Tcherepnin again in Paris, he came back to Japan on August 11,1939. He stayed in Europe just before the World War Ⅱbroke out on Septemper 1, 1939 by German invation to Poland .
After coming back to Japan, he had the activity with YSO while conducting New Symphony Orchestra , Shochiku Orchestra and Shinkyo Orchestra in Manshu.
After the war, he re-organized
YSO with Yasojima and had the 30th concert of YSO in November ,1946.
In 1950 , YSO played Beethoven's Symphony No.9 for the first time as an
amateur orchestra.
After
conducting Tokyo philharmonic orchestra in 1951. he devoted mainly to the
activity of YSO and the cultural development of Yokohama
He
released the Poetic Suite “ Yokohama in 1947” by the request of Yokohama city in 1954 ,the year of the 100th
anniversary of Yokohama Port Opening.
Kojiro Kobune had built up
YSO with players and conducted a lot of music in YSO and led and head the
amateur orchestra in Japan . He became sick after the concert tour in Manila in
1977 and died at the age 74 on February 17, 1982 .