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Koichi Sugiyama

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Koichi Sugiyama (1931–2021) first worked as a director in radio and television and wrote advertising music and pop songs. In his mid-fifties he began on game music. For Dragon Quest (1986) he wrote melodies in the style of Western classical music, with a solemn overture as the opening. He established a fixed pattern: a theme for the castle, the town, the field, the dungeon and the battles. Many later role-playing games adopted that pattern. Sugiyama had his game music played by orchestras early on and from 1987 organised concerts of game music. He wrote the music for the series until his death. He was also controversial for his nationalist political statements.

Listening

Listening tip. Notice the classical form: a fanfare-like overture, clear melodies and harmonies that recall European Romanticism.

Discography

Studio albums

Other work

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Mentioned in other articles

See also