Akutagawa Yasushi was a Japanese composer and conductor.
He graduated from Tokyo Academy of Music in 1949 and studied composition with Hashimoto Kunihiko, Shimofusa Kanichi and Ifukube Akira at the Tokyo Music School. He was one of the members of Sannin no kai (The Three) along with Dan Ikuma and Mayuzumi Toshiro.
In 1954, when Japan did not have diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union yet, he entered the Soviet Union illegally, and made friends with Dmitri Shostakovich, Aram Khachaturian and Dmitri Kabalevsky. Akutagawa was the only Japanese composer whose works were officially published in the Soviet Union at that time. His 1950 Music for Symphony Orchestra reflects his love of the music of Shostakovich and Prokofiev.
His compositions were influenced by Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev andIfukube Akira .
He was popular as a master of ceremonies of TV shows and a Former President of JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors of Music). As an educator, he devoted himself to train an amateur orchestra, Shin Kokyo Gakudan ("The New Symphony Orchestra"). Almost one year after Akutagawa died, the Akutagawa composition award was established in his memory. (Source: wikipedia) Edit Biography