Hidekazu Yoshida

nihongo|Hidekazu Yoshida|吉田 秀和|Yoshida Hidekazu|born 23 September 1913 is a Japanese music critic and literary critic, active in Shōwa and Heisei Japan.

Biography

Yoshida was born in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. From an early age, he was interested in languages, and joined in club activities involving English and German when in high school. He was tutored in the French language by noted poet Nakahara Chuya, and corresponded with noted literary critics Kobayashi Hideo and Ooka Shohei when still a student. He later graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in French literature.

His first work of music criticism was a series on Mozart, published in the magazine Ongaku Geijutsu in 1946. In 1948, he helped establish the Toho Gakuen School of Music together with follow music critics and noted musicians; the school in now one of Japan's most prestigious music institutions.

He made frequent appearances on radio, and later on television, providing commentary on classical music, and on music educational programs.

In 1975, he was awarded the 2nd Osaragi Jizo literary prize for his Yoshino Hideo zenshu (Collected Poems of Yoshino Hideo). In 1988, he became director of the Mito Geijutsukan. The same year, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3nd class and the NHK Culture Award. In 1993, he was awarded the Yomiuri Prize.

In 2006, he received the Order of Culture from the Japanese government.

External links

* [http://www.soum.co.jp/mito/Tower/newspace-e.html Art Tower Mito with photo]
* [http://www.soum.co.jp/mito/music/mco/mcodir.html Yoshida on founding of Mito Chamber Orchestra ]