Sekiya Toshiko Manuscript and Letters

8/19/2019 Sekiya Toshiko Manuscript and Letters

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A musical rarity and rare autographs of the great soprano who died veryyoung.

Two letters and musical folio

1) An original manuscript, a letter dated 8th May 1928. 18cm. x 13cm. 3pages, one blank. Written and signed by the young Japanese soprano

and composer Sekiya Toshiko (関屋敏子1904-1941), written in Italian

and addressed to 'Maestro' who we know with certainty is the PiedmontComposer from Bra, Adolfo Gandino.

The text reads:

Dear and excellent Signor Maestro,Thank you very much for the many courtesies that were continuallyextended to me in the USA.I am very sorry I am not able to express myself as well as I would like toin Italian as I am able to in Japanese; which I know.My father is extraordinarily pleased and joins me in thanking you with allmy heart.I received the papers, many thanks!

I am painfully sorry I cannot accept the invite to Spain.


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I still hope to come to Bologna soon. However, I will not be free before(the beginning of) next month. My extended greetings to all my friends inBologna, especially the President of the Philharmonic.Thanking you very much again, believe me I am much obliged

Toshiko SekiyaVia (Giovanni) Boccaccio 11, Milano.

The letter is also signed 関屋敏子 (Sekiya Toshiko) in Japanese.

Perfectly preserved.

1) Lettera originale manoscritta datata 8 Maggio 1928, di cm. 18 x 13,pagine 2 + 1 bianca. Tutta scritta e autografa dalla giovane cantante(soprano) e compositrice Giapponese Toshiko Sekiya (1904 - 1941),scritta in Italiano e diretta al 'Maestro' (si tratta, lo sappiamo concertezza, del compositore Piemontese Adolfo Gandino). Il testo recita:

Gentilissimo e bravissimo Sig. Maestro,La ringrazio infinitamente per le mille cortesie che di continuo mi USA.Sono molto dispiacente di non essere in grado di esprimermi in Italianocome vorrei e saprei fare in Giapponese. Anche mio padre e' straordinariamente contento e si unisce a me nelringraziarla con tutto il cuore. Ho ricevuto i giornali, mille grazie!, m'e'dispiaciuto di non poter accettare l'invitoin Spagna.Fra poco mi auguro di poter ancora venire a Bologna. Comunque nonsaro' libera prima (principio) del prossimo mese.Mi saluti tanto gli amici tutti di Bologna, specialmente il Presidente dellaFilarmonica.Ringraziandola di nuovo profondamente mi creda la sua obbligatissimaToshiko Sekiya

Via Boccaccio 11 Milano.


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Segue una frase scritta in Giapponese. Perfettamente conservata.

2) An original printed musical folio completed by hand in Tōkyō and

dated 21st

April 1938. 27 cm x 19 cm. This very rare object consists ofthe words and music for 'Maison Italienne a' T ōky ō' (メゾン・イタリアン

・ア・東京) which was composed by Sekiya Toshiko (関屋敏子1904-

1941) with a libretto by Baron Ōkura Kishichirō (大倉喜七郎,男爵 1882-1963) to welcome the Maestro Adolfo Gandino to Japan. The text is inJapanese and Italian (with some very nice unintentional grammaticalhowlers). Perfectly preserved.

もろ手をあげて Wholeheartedly Benvenuto

Parole Sig. Kishichiro Okura Musica Toshiko Sekiya作詞大倉喜七郎作曲関屋敏子氏

Lyrics Ōkura Kishichirō (Baron) Composition Mrs. Sekiya Toshiko

21/4/1938 Tokio


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2) Foglio originale a stampa e compilato a mano datato Tōkyō Aprile1928, di cm. 27 x 19, 8. Il rarissimo oggetto contiene le parole e lamusica, composte per la 'Maison Italienne a' Tōkyō' dalla stessa ToshikoSekiya (parole di Kishichirō Ōkura), per il benvenuto fatto dal Giappone

al maestro Adolfo Gandino. Testo in Giapponese e Italiano (constrafalcioni grammaticali molto simpatici quanto involontari).Perfettamente conservato.

Rarita' musicale, rarissimi sono poi gli autografi di questa grandesoprano morta giovanissima.

3) Letter

An original manuscript, a letter dated 29th June 1928. 17, 8 x 13 cm. 3pages. Written and signed by the young Japanese soprano and

composer Sekiya Toshiko (関屋敏子1904-1941). Written in Italian and

addressed to the 'Maestro' who we know with certainty is the PiedmontComposer from Bra, Adolfo Gandino.

The text reads:

Dear and excellent Signor Maestro,How are you Maestro?I'm always very well and study with great passion. I have now moved tothe home of the Cortella family at Via Rasori 2, Milan. It is adistinguished family and I am so very fortunate. Forgive me for nothaving written for such a long time. I have been very busy. Happily my

concert in Genoa was a completely successful evening. Please behappy at my good news. I have now sent the papers from Genoa.


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Please write to me with your news. Many, many greetings to you frommy father.Many dear greetings to your family.(Yours) Faithfully

Toshiko SekiyaVia (Giovanni) Rasori 2, Milan

Perfectly preserved.

Lettera originale manoscritta datata 29 Giugno 1928, di cm. 17, 8 x 13,pagine 3. Tutta scritta e autografa dalla giovane cantante (soprano) e

compositrice Giapponese Toshiko Sekiya (1904 - 1941), scritta inItaliano e diretta al 'Maestro' (si tratta, lo sappiamo con certezza, delcompositore Piemontese Adolfo Gandino). Il testo recita:

Gentilissimo e bravissimo Sig. Maestro,Come sta lei Maestro? Io sto tanto bene e studio sempre con granpassione. Adesso io ho cambiato la casa in Via Rasori 2 Milano pressofamiglia Cortella.E' una distinta famiglia e io mi trovo tanto bene.

Scusi tanto che io non le ho scritto da tanto tempo. Io avevo tanto dafare.Fortunatamente il mio concerto di genova era proprio una serataeccellente.La prego di contentarsi per la mia buona notizia. Adesso io le homandato i giornali di genova.La prego di scrivermi per la sua notizia.Tante cose, tanti saluti a lei dal mio padre.Tanti saluti caramente per la sua famiglia.

Distintamente


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Toshiko SekiyaVia Rasori 2 Milano.

Perfettamente conservata.

Rarita' musicale, rarissimi sono poi gli autografi di questa grandesoprano morta giovanissima.

---

Sekiya Toshiko (関屋敏子1904 - 1941)

Sekiya Toshiko was born on the 12th March 1904. Her father was the

businessman Sekiya Yūnosuke (関屋祐之介) and her mother was

LeGendre Aiko (ルジャンドル愛子

). Her uncle was the famous Kabukiactor Ichimura Uzaemon XV (十五世市村羽左衛門), her maternal

grandfather was the American Foreign Policy Advisor to Japan Charles

LeGendre (チャールズ・ルジャンドル) and her grandmother was Ikeda

Ito (池田絲), the illegitimate daughter of the Daimyo Matsudaira

Yoshinaga (松平慶永).

Sekiya Aiko (関屋愛子,LeGendre Aikoル・ジャンドル愛子) with her husband the businessman Sekiya

Yūnosuke (関屋祐之介) and their daughter Sekiya Toshiko (関屋敏子)


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She was enrolled at the Ochanomizu University Elementary Schoolwhere in 1912 whilst in the third grade she sang, as a soloist, ‘Haru gaKita’ (春が来た - Spring has come) and ‘Fuji no Yama’ (富士の山 – Mt.Fuji) in front of the Empress Dowager Shōken (昭憲皇太后). In 1914

after studying with the singer Miura Tamaki (三浦環) she sang in a recitala solo of Antonio Lotti’s ‘Pur dicesti, o bocca bella’ (Your beautiful lips) inItalian and was reported the following day in the Miyako Shimbunnewspaper as a genius child singer. At Miura’s recommendation shewent to study singing with the Adolfo Sarcoli, a Siennese musician whohad settled in Japan. In 1921 she went to study at the Tōkyō School ofMusic the curriculum of which was based on German music theoryagainst which she rebelled dropping out to again study with Sarcoli. In1927 she went to Italy to study at the University of Bologna and in 1928

was the first Japanese citizen to be awarded a Special Diploma by theRoyal Philharmonic Academy of Bologna. Under the tutelage of theItalian soprano Rosina Storchio she successfully auditioned for and joined La Scala, Milan, as a lead soprano. At the time she receivedrequests to tour Germany and the USA and after her tours returnedhome in 1929.

She spoke four languages other than her native Japanese; English,Italian, French and Spanish.

In 1930 she starred alongside the Japanese Tenor Yoshie Fujiwara (藤

原義江) in ‘La Traviata’ (椿姫).

On the 1st October 1930 the film ‘Komoriuta’ (子守歌: Lullaby), directedby Suzuki Shigeyoshi (鈴木重吉), was released by Empire Kinema

Entertainment (帝国キネマ演芸). Sekiya Toshiko starred as Ono Michiko

(小野みち子) alongside her sister Sekiya Kimiko (関谷喜美子) who

played the role of Seina (セイナ). It also starred Matsumoto Taisuke (松

本泰輔) as Keisuke Shingūji (新宮寺圭介) and Nakano Eiji (中野英治) asIzumikawa (泉川). It premiered at the Asakusa Shochikuza Theatre (浅草

松竹座) and was Japan’s first East Phone film style ‘talkie’ (イースト・フォン式トーキー).

She then went on to tour Europe and the USA which included a recitalby her at the Hollywood Bowl La Fiesta programme in September 1931.

During her tour she began to write her opera ‘O-Natsu Kyōran’ (お夏狂乱

: Summer Madness) which premiered at the Paris Opera in 1933.

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After four years away in April 1934 she returned home on the ship the

Terukuni Maru (照国丸). At the time she commented that she was glad

to be going home but had left Opera in Europe in an uncertain state. Shestopped off in Singapore to give a recital which took place on the 5

th April

1934 at the Memorial Hall.

O-Natsu Kyōran was then premiered in Japan in 1934 at the KabukizaTheatre (歌舞伎座). In 1937 she married Yagyū Gorō (柳生五郎) (theYagyū Ryū style swordsmanship instructor to the son of Yagyu Shun’eki(柳生俊益) the last Lord of the Yagū Clan from Yamato Province) butdivorced 4 years later.

On November 7th 1941 the Soviet spy Richard Sorge (リヒャルト・ゾル

ゲ), and a Japanese accomplice Ozaki Hotsumi (尾崎秀実) were

arrested for espionage in Sugamo Prison (巣鴨プリズン). Though her

sister Kimiko always denied her sister’s involvement in the Sorge Affair,Toshiko, who had also been under investigation and who it wasrumoured was one of Sorge’s mistresses, committed suicide on the 23rd of the same month, overdosing on sleeping pills. Toshiko’s suicide notewhich was written on the back of a sheet of music which she hadcomposed called ‘Noibara’ or ‘Field of Thorns’…

‘Even if at the age of thirty -eight I, Sekiya Toshiko, am scattered likefragrant cherry blossoms I realise that I will not be lost forever. Withsincerity I will keep Toshiko’s honour safe for eternity, year after year fora million years the world will know how, in this, I demonstrated the purityof my heart, thoughtfully done to protect the dignity of the arts of greaterJapan. Sekiya Toshiko, suicide note’


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関屋敏子は、三十八歳で今散りましても、桜の花のようにかぐわしい名

は永久消える事のない今日只今だと悟りました。そして敏子の名誉を永

久に保管していただき、百万年も万々年も世とともに人の心の清さを知

らしむる御手本になりますよう、大日本芸術の品格を守らして下さいま

せ。—関屋敏子、遺書

However it was reported in ‘The Hawaii Mainichi’ that she had hungherself.

She is buried in Sojiji Temple in Yokohama. In 1987 the Japanesecompany Victor Entertainment digitised a selection of her songs

including Yoimachigusa (宵待草: Evening Primrose), Kōjō no Tsuki (荒城の月: The Moon over the Ruined Castle), Noibara (野いばら: Field of

Thorns), and others

Sekiya Toshiko in Digital (関屋敏子イン・デジタル)


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Ōkura Kishichirō (Baron,大倉喜七郎 1882-1963)

The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra「東京シンフォニー管弦楽団」was

based at the Imperial Hotel which had been founded by his father ŌkuraKihachirō (大倉喜八郎 1837-1928). He was the patron of the OperaticTenor Fujiwara Yoshie (藤原義江 1898-1976)

Piedmont Composer Adolfo Gandino (1878-1940)

Adolfo Gandino, was born in Bra, Piedmont, Italy, on 29th

July 1878.

Adolfo Gandino was the son of Giovanni Battista Gandino, who wasamong the most celebrated Latin scholars of all time. He moved with hisfamily to Bologna, where his father taught Latin literature at theprestigious University. It was in this atmosphere of an extraordinarycultural milieu (colleagues and friends of his father were Carducci,Giovanni Pascoli, Tullio Murri and other celebrities, as well as thearchaeologist Edoardo Brizio from Bra) that Adolfo Gandino grew up and

studied, showing a singular talent for music, though not at the expenseof the humanities, and he went on to achieve a law degree. Theenthusiastic musical life of the Bolognese and the presence ofdistinguished teachers in the music school enabled his creativity andsupported his intense studying. Under the guidance of Bruno Mugelliniand Caesar Dall'Olio, but above all by Giuseppe Martucci, he quicklycompleted his academic studies whilst still young and received adiploma in composition. He continued his training in Italy and abroadwith other famous teachers such as Massenet and Rimsky-Korsakov.


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He lived mainly in Bologna, but always remembered Bra withaffectionate nostalgia, visiting often during the holidays.

He had a great deal of luck, lived a peaceful life and was very

industrious. He dedicated himself to the development of musicalactivities in Bologna, and to supporting and guiding younger colleaguesin their careers. Friendly, modest and selfless, he didn’t work to promotehimself and his work nor did he seek honours or awards.

However, he was highly valued and won the esteem and admiration ofcolleagues and critics alike, as well as the public of Bologna who lovedhim. He won unremitting success in the numerous performances of hisworks.

He died suddenly June 7, 1940, at the height of his creativity.

After his death on the eve of the war, his work remained largely un-promoted and his productions largely unappreciated. He was, however,remembered fondly by Cesare Valabrega and his work is recorded in themusical archives of the State Record Library. The citizens of Bracontinue to promote opera and concert events and have never forgottenthis illustrious and devoted citizen.

Adolfo Gandino nacque a Bra il 29 luglio 1878.

Figlio di Giovanni Battista Gandino, che fu tra i più celebri latinisti di ognitempo, seguì giovanissimo la famiglia a Bologna, ove il padre insegnavaletteratura latina all’Università, a quell’epoca tra le più prestigiose.

In un’atmosfera di altissimo livello culturale (basti ricordare che eranocolleghi e amici del padre Giosuè Carducci, Giovanni Pascoli, Tullio

Murri ed altre celebrità, tra le quali anche l’archeologobraidese Edoardo Brizio) Adolfo Gandino crebbe e studiò, dimostrandosingolare talento musicale, ma non trascurando gli studi umanistici, tantoda conseguire anche la laurea in giurisprudenza.

L’intensa vita musicale bolognese, e la presenza di illustri docenti in quelliceo musicale gli consentirono di offrire ad un fervido estro creativo ilsupporto di studi profondi. Sotto la guida di Bruno Mugellini e CesareDall’Olio, ma soprattutto di Giuseppe Martucci, egli completòrapidamente l’iter scolastico e conseguì giovanissimo il diploma in

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composizione, perfezionandosi poi in Italia e all’estero presso altrifamosi docenti (Massenet, Rimsky-Korsakow).

Dimorò prevalentemente a Bologna, ricordando sempre Bra con

affettuosa nostalgia, e tornandovi spesso nei periodi di riposo.

Dotato di cospicui beni di fortuna, visse serenamente ed operosamente,dedicandosi anche allo sviluppo delle attività musicali in Bologna, edaiutando giovani colleghi ad affermarsi. Di carattere cordiale, modestoed altruista, non si adoperò per la diffusione ed il successo della propriaproduzione, né cercò onori o riconoscimenti.

Il suo effettivo valore gli procurò tuttavia la stima e l’ammirazione dicolleghi e critici, e del pubblico bolognese che lo amò e decretò

incontrastato successo a tutte le numerose esecuzioni dei suoi lavori.

Morì improvvisamente il 7 giugno 1940, ancora nel pieno dell’attivitàcreativa.

Dopo la morte, avvenuta tra l’altro alla vigilia del conflitto mondiale, pocofu fatto per diffondere e far apprezzare la di lui produzione, se si eccettuiun affettuoso ricordo di Cesare Valabrega nella Storia della Musica indischi prodotta dalla Discoteca di Stato, ed alcune manifestazioni liriche

e concertistiche promosse dalla città di Bra, che non ha mai dimenticatol’illustre e devoto concittadino.

Documents

Sekiya Toshiko Manuscript and Letters