Musical Works
Yasuhide Ito has earned much praise for his compositional endeavors. In all, Ito is credited for more than 130 musical works. This collection of musical works includes pieces for wind ensemble, orchestra, instrumental chamber ensembles, solo voice, various solo wind instruments, piano, solo percussion, solo string instruments, and various other instruments such as organ, cembalo, accordion, and harmonica.
Ito is probably most well known as a composer of band music. Among his most popular works for wind ensemble are “Gloriosa” (Gururiyoza), which is among the most frequently played repertories in the world, and “Festal Scenes”, the piece which with Ito made his United States debut in 1987. This U.S. premiere took place during a joint convention between the American Band Association and the Japanese Band Association in Tennessee. Ito himself conducted the orchestra that premiered his piece.
Other notable pieces for wind ensemble by Ito are “The Symphony” (1990) and “Melodies for Wind Ensemble” (1995), both commissioned specially by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. In recent years, Ito has dedicated much of his time and talent to composing vocal music. In the year 2001, Ito debuted his first opera, titled Mr. Cinderella. The opera received much critical acclaim and greatly impacted the followers of the Japanese opera scene.
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—Joan Sheingold Ditzion, Dennie, and Palmer Wolf. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 2 (1978)