Yoshihisa Hirano (平野 義久, Hirano Yoshihisa, born December 7, 1971) is a Japanese composer and arranger.[1] He is best known for composing the scores for anime series, such as Death Note, Hunter × Hunter (2011), and Edens Zero.[2] He has also made the orchestration for video games, mostly in the Final Fantasy franchise.[3] His musical style combines impressionism and atonal music. He employs techniques such as polyrhythm, tone clusters, polytonality, brass glissandi and polymodal chromaticism to create unique musical textures.
Yoshihisa Hirano 平野義久 | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 7, 1971 Wakayama Prefecture, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Labels | VAP |
| Website | www |
Biography
editYoshihisa Hirano was born in Wakayama, Japan, in 1971. He started to study composition by himself as an elementary student because of his interest for baroque music. He then discovered jazz in high school, and this enthusiasm has shaped his career in music. He mentioned having listened to Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane, among others.[4] His admiration of them once gave him dreams of becoming a jazz musician, but he then discovered contemporary music. He gained interest in the works of John Zorn,[5] one of the musicians who had the biggest influence on him in his youth. On the other hand, symphonies by Shostakovich also greatly impressed him,[6] and helped him make up his mind to study composition seriously.
He moved to the United States and studied composition at Juilliard School, in 1992, with Stanley Wolfe. He later entered Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Christopher Rouse and Joseph Schwantner. Some of the awards he has received include first prize in the Axia Tape Competition, in Japan, during his high school years, and New York's New Music for Young Ensembles.[7]
Hirano made his debut as a composer in 2001, in the anime series Beyblade. After that, he made the music for Tokyo DisneySea's 2002 and 2004 countdown celebrations. In 2002, Hirano paired with pianist Masako Hosoda to form the unit Bleu, releasing 3 albums since then.[8] Hirano was also responsible for some of the orchestration and arrangement for a number of Ali Project's albums.[which?]
Since then, Hirano has composed for many anime series, as well as music for concert, dance, film and radio, with compositions ranging from classical to pop and contemporary music.[9]
Although Hirano's style can be considered unique and innovative, he cited the composers Isang Yun, Toru Takemitsu, John Zorn, George Crumb, Olivier Messiaen, Tan Dun, György Ligeti and Maurice Ravel as sources of inspiration.[10] [11]
Works
editClassical music
edit- 2000 - Variations on the Overture from “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” for Orchestra
- 2002 - Piano Suite “Le Miracle de la Rose”
- 2005 - Four Variations on Mahler's “Adagietto” for Chamber Orchestra
- 2006 - Conte ~ after Kenji Miyazawa's "Night on the Galactic Railroad" for Piano solo
- 2007 - Variations on a Theme of Paganini for Orchestra
- 2008 - Death Note Concertino for Wind Band
- 2009 - Symphonic Suite “Final Fantasy XIII” for Orchestra
- 2012 - String Quartet “Descending Dragon”
- 2015 - Piano Sonata
- 2015 - “San Narciso Capriccio” for Saxophone Quartet
- 2015 - Exercises Radio Nobles et Sentimentals for Piano Solo
- 2015 - Nocturne of Princess Tankaku for Piano Solo
- 2016 - “LIBERAL DANCES” for Saxophone Quartet
- 2016 - 10 Preludes for Piano Solo
- 2017 - Symphonic Suite “Hunter x Hunter” for Orchestra
- 2018 - Picaresque for Cello Solo
- 2019 - Concerto for Koto and Orchestra “Fukuyama Fantasia”
- 2022 - “Elegy” for Harp and Contrabass
- 2024 - Unnamed Piece for Piano Solo
Anime
editYoshihisa Hirano has participated in the making of the soundtracks from the following anime works:
Movies
edit| Year | Title | Director | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | I Am Makimoto | Nobuo Mizuta | |
| 2023 | We're Millennials Got a Problem? | Nobuo Mizuta | |
| Confess to your Crimes | Nobuo Mizuta |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Note(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- |
|
[20] |
| 2009 | Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles |
|
[21] |
| Final Fantasy XIII |
|
References
edit- ^ "College of Arts & Communications". University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ Phillips, Demi (April 18, 2022). "10 anime with incredible soundtracks". We Got This Covered. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 2, 2019). "Montreal's Otakuthon Hosts Yoshihisa Hirano, FAKY, Rica Matsumoto". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "平野義久 公式サイト". Yoshihisa Hirano Official Site. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "平野義久 公式サイト". Yoshihisa Hirano Official Site. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "平野義久 公式サイト". Yoshihisa Hirano Official Site. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "平野義久 公式サイト". Yoshihisa Hirano Official Site. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Yoshihisa Hirano". VGMdb. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Official 2010 Winter Anime Preview: Headless Bikers, Pantsu and Breast Feeding". Otaka Review.net. January 2, 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ "Yoshihisa Hirano". VGMdb. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/Hirano_comp/status/1685843627199852545.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "BEYBLADE: Original Soundtrack". CDJapan. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Death Note Original Soundtrack". CDJapan. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "TV Anime "Tatakau Shisho The Book of Bantorra" Original Soundtrack". CDJapan. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Funimation UK/IE to stream Hunter x Hunter (2011 anime series)". Anime UK News. July 13, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ ""Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge (Anime Movie)" Original Soundtrack". CDJapan. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ ""Hunter X Hunter The Last Mission (Theatrical Anime)" Original Soundtrack". CDJapan. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 12, 2021). "Edens Zero Anime's Teaser Video Reveals More Staff". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- ^ Dempsey, Liam (February 10, 2023). "Fantasy TV Anime Helck Gets Fully Equipped with Teaser Trailer, Main Staff and 20 Cast Members". Crunchyroll. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ "DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack | CRCP-40137~8 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Original Soundtrack | SE-3001-2 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
External links
edit- Official website(in Japanese)
- Yoshihisa Hirano discography at VGMdb
- Yoshihisa Hirano at Oricon (in Japanese)
- Yoshihisa Hirano anime at Media Arts Database (in Japanese)
- Yoshihisa Hirano at IMDb
- Yoshihisa Hirano at Anime News Network's encyclopedia