Taking on the world premiere of a piece of music deemed “unplayable”— a challenge that took five years* (according to our research)— Taro Masuoka performs Takehisa Kosugi’s “Music for the Revolution” with his own unique interpretation; the video will be released on September 16.

Clef de Sol Project LLC is pleased to announce that composer and performer Taro Masuoka will perform his own interpretation of the work *Music for Revolution* by Japanese avant-garde composer Takehisa Kosugi(1938–2018) through his own unique interpretation and will release a video of the performance on YouTube on September 16, 2026.

Performer: Taro Masaoka

This work is a conceptual piece released by Takehisa Kosugi in 1964; it is known for containing only extreme textual instructions rather than musical notation or melodies as found in conventional scores.Takahisa Kosugi is one of Japan’s leading avant-garde composers and performers, and he was also involved in the Fluxus movement during the 1960s. *Music for Revolution* is a work that is still often described as “unplayable.”

Masuoka interpreted the “unplayability” inherent in the work as an “obstacle to be overcome,” while adhering strictly to the textual instructions. He began the performance on September 9, 2021, and completed it five years later, on September 9, 2026.

The video being released here documents that five-year performance.

*Music for the Revolution* is a work released by Takehisa Kosugi in 1964.

Takahisa Kosugi is known for his avant-garde musical practices that expand the conventional concept of music—centered on “producing sound”—to treat actions, time, and space itself as works of art. *Music for the Revolution* is one of the works that symbolizes this philosophy.

On the other hand, due to its extreme instructions, it has long been regarded as an extremely difficult piece to perform. To date, no recorded performances have been found in publicly available materials.

Bill Gates once stated, “Most of the progress in human history has been achieved by people who refused to accept the impossible.” Taro Masuoka undertook this performance with the hope that by resolving what was deemed an impossible performance through a new interpretation, it would serve as a catalyst to further advance contemporary music, which had reached an evolutionary dead end.

■Comment by Taro Masuoka

“This piece originated from the avant-garde art movement known as Fluxus.

I sometimes feel that contemporary music has become too concept-driven and has drifted far from popular music.

Contemporary music, which relies on atonality, microtones, and special playing techniques, may resemble contemporary art, which has become dominated by abstract paintings.

Just as hyperrealism emerged in contemporary art, leading to a re-examination of traditional techniques, I believe it would be good for contemporary music to come full circle and see a renewed focus on melody and harmony.

I hope this performance will serve as an opportunity to reflect on what contemporary music is and what it means to “perform.”

■About the Performer

[Taro Masuoka]

Composer and harpsichordist.

While pursuing his compositional and musical activities under the pseudonym “Composer Kiraku Shinsai,” he also serves as the representative of Clef de Sol Project LLC, where he works to improve the environment for musicians by supporting classical musicians and organizing concerts.

For this performance of *Music for the Revolution*, we attempted to reexamine the works themselves from a fresh perspective, unbound by existing interpretations.

■Performance Overview

Title: “Music for Revolution”

Composer: Takehisa Kosugi

Year of Composition: 1964

Performer: Taro Masuoka

Performance Start: September 9, 2021

Performance Ended: September 9, 2026

Video Release: September 16, 2026

Platform: YouTube

YouTube Channel: Composer-Kira-T.Masuoka ch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8VHC2XqyJ0

■Company Overview

Company Name: Clef de Sol Project LLC

Address: 8th Floor, No. 2 MYT Building, 1-26-9 Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Taro Masuoka