Mamoru Samuragochi Exposed As A Fraud - Japanese Composer Had A Ghostwriter, Faked Deafness

[zoramargolis]

ruh roh!

[DonRocks]

ruh roh!

I've never heard of Mamoru Samuragochi, so I don't know if he's respected in classical music inner circles, or something more along the lines of Yanni, John Tesh, Liberace, etc. The important musicians - the ones people will know about 200 years from now - exist in relative obscurity (Robert Muczynski, Dominick Argento, etc.).

One interesting thing about this situation is that the music itself has not changed. It still exists, and is note-for-note the same, so if these works are truly great (and even if they're not), it doesn't matter who wrote them ... or does it?

In the long term, all I see happening is that history will substitute one author (Takashi Niigaki, the ghostwriter) for another (Mamoru Samuragochi, the fraud), and this deliciously tawdry scandal will be a mere footnote.

If Samuragochi is a "pop-classical" figure, then this is no different than Ashlee Simpson doing her hoe-down on Saturday Night Live, or Milli Vanilli blaming it on the rain.

I also wish to congratulate myself for avoiding the temptation of drawing parallels to celebrity chefs.