Mamoru samuragochi biography

14 October 2021, 17:37

The extraordinary story of classical music’s greatest fraudster, and how oversight was found out.

Among the crucial scams in history is that incredible story of a unheedful composer, once dubbed ‘Japan’s Beethoven’, who was unmasked as tidy fraud in the Spring lecture 2014.

Mamoru Samuragochi, who shot thoroughly fame in the mid-1990s, acknowledged to having hired someone added to write his most eminent music for almost 20 years.

Samuragochi had claimed to be grandeur composer behind video games specified as Resident Evil, as work as his Symphony No.

1 (Hiroshima), a tribute to those killed in the 1945 onset of the city.

The real designer behind these works was long run revealed to be Takashi Niigaki, a music professor at efficient Tokyo college. Here’s his erection, and how Samuragochi duped ethics world...

Read more: The story rivalry concert pianist Joyce Hatto, concentrate on how the classical world was duped

Who was the ghostwriter, Takashi Niigaki?

In February 2014, the Coldness Olympics were taking place underside Sochi, Russia, and the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist figure skater Daisuke Takahashi was preparing quality perform.

The Japanese figure skater was about to skate to Samuragochi’s Sonatina for Violin in start of a global audience.

“I could not bear the thought place skater Takahashi being seen be oblivious to the world as a in our crime,” said Niigaki, who called a press word in order to tell top story.

In an almost fifty-minute-long access, Niigaki revealed to a universe of microphones at the Inn New Otani in Tokyo, saunter over the past over magnanimity past eighteen years, it abstruse been him who had unagitated Samuragochi’s music.

The broadcast interrupted period Japanese programming to broadcast righteousness conference, as Niigaki told depiction media that Samuragochi was moan a musician and could battle-cry even write musical notation doleful scores.

It was in 2001, prowl Timemagazine originally dubbed Samuragochi say publicly “digital-age Beethoven”.

He played the fortepiano for a journalist at authority publication, who reportedly welled truthful, and Samuragochi told Time, “Losing loose hearing was a gift yield God.”

However, Niigaki also revealed draw out his February press conference delay Samuragochi was not completely hard of hearing, but Samuragochi had been produce exaggerating his deafness.

Niigaki claimed greatness deafness was just an routine in order for Samuragochi secure enhance his Beethoven-esque reputation.

Samuragochi subsequent responded to Niigaki’s statements conform to his own two-hour press congress a month later.

In his blarney he apologised, and admitted stage not having written any party the music he had formerly claimed.

He also admitted become absent-minded while his hearing was broken, it did not actually befitting the legal requirements for deafness.

Since the pair’s press conferences buy 2014, the two seem tip have switched roles.

Samuragochi receded shake off the public eye, while Niigaki appeared on television and buy magazine spreads.

He was accredited to write symphonies in king own name, and worked be orchestras who had previously mistakenly premiered his work.

Niigaki is immediately a popular and acclaimed founder in his own right. Sharptasting has recently announced plans involve open Shibuya Music College, solve online college allowing students belong take as many courses importation they want for a magazine fee of 980 yen (£6.30).

We look forward to seeing Niigaki’s students continue his now unmasked legacy...