was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, and the brother of composer Maki Ishii

Maki Ishii

was a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music, and brother of composer Kan Ishii.-Biography:Born in Tokyo, Ishii studied composition privately and conducting with Watanabe from 1952 to 1958 in Tokyo, then moved to Berlin, where he continued his studies under Boris Blacher and Josef Rufer...

. His father, was a prominent Japanese ballet dancer. His Symphonia Ainu won a prize at the 1958 Art Festival, inspiring him to do further work inspired by nationalist primitivism. His musical style appeals directly to the emotions, and shows the influence of Carl Orff

Carl Orff

Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...

. In addition to orchestral and vocal music, he has written extensively for the stage, including 6 operas, 3 ballets and 9 film scores, including the 1962 science-fiction film Gorath

Gorath

Gorath, released in Japan as , is a Japanese science fiction tokusatsu film produced by Toho in 1962. The story for Gorath was by Jojiro Okami.-Synopsis:...

. Ishii accepted a position as professor at Shōwa College of Music in 1986.

Selected works

• Marimo (ballet)
• Sinfonia Ainu for soprano, chorus and orchestra
• Suite from Marimo for orchestra
• Going in a Wide Plain for wind orchestra
• Music for Percussions by Eight Players
• Sonata for viola and piano (1962)
• Preludes for piano
• The Music for Flute (flute solo)
• Songs of a Withered Tree and the Sun for male chorus and piano
• Japanese Folk Songs for voice and piano
• Gorath
  Gorath
  Gorath, released in Japan as , is a Japanese science fiction tokusatsu film produced by Toho in 1962. The story for Gorath was by Jojiro Okami.-Synopsis:...
  
  (film score)