Hisatada Otaka Flute Concert(in)o

[asdf]

Hello,

Does anyone know if there are any scans of this piece? I coudn't find any PDFs online.
There isn't much information on the composer on the web, but apparently he died in 1951 so it should be public domain in Canada.

[steltz]

It's strange, but WorldCat shows 6 entries for this work -- most are reprints that have recent copyright dates on them, but one looks like it's the original, publishing date is given as [19--]. This entry is from Royal Library in Denmark, but when I go into their system, I can't find it.

Sikorski publishes it, and it seems to be available, but since it will probably be PD on 1 Jan 2012 in the EU, anyone with a copy could probably upload it. The only thing that might get in the way is that it was written in 1948, but without a specific date for the earliest publication, it's difficult to tell if it was published in Otaka's lifetime.

I have emailed the Royal Library to see if the WorldCat entry is correct, but in the meantime, if you can find another copy somewhere, it can probably be uploaded.

[asdf]

Thank you very much for taking the trouble to search the piece.
I didn't know about Worldcat; it looks like a very useful site! Can the downloadable scores be used for performances, or are they copyright-restricted(the ones after 1950, I mean)?

[steltz]

Even if you find a downloadable score, you need to check the copyright law in the country you are playing the music in to see whether you are using it legally. For instance, assuming this was published in Otaka's lifetime, it will not be legal to play from a downloaded copy or photocopy until 1 January 2012 [edit--this is a mathematical error, correct year is 2022]. If you life in a country with a life+50 law (Canada, for example), it will be legal now. If you live in the US, this will probably carry a life+95-year copyright restriction, which means it won't be in the public domain for another 25 years.

[asdf]

So if I understand you correctly, the copyrighted scores they offer are only for viewing.
If a work is published posthumously, then does copyright last first publication+50?(in Canada)

[steltz]

At IMSLP, scores under copyright won't even be available for viewing.

Your IP address shows you in Canada. If this is correct, then you would be able to play from this immediately, provided it was published in Otaka's lifetime.

Different countries deal with posthumous publications differently, and I'm not sure how Canada deals with it, but in any case you would have to start with finding the original publication date.

[edit] I forgot to ask whether you just want the flute part, the flute/piano reduction, or a score. As it turns out, the piano reduction seems to have been done by Atsutade Otaka (probably a son of Hisatada). He was born in 1944, is likely to be still alive; I can't find a death date for him. The piano part will almost certainly be out of bounds world-wide, I'm afraid.

The parts not edited by anyone would be the original flute part, and the original score, and these are what my comments would be relevant to.

[kalliwoda]

Hallo Steltz,

I think your typo regarding the year H. Otaka becomes free in the EU should be corrected: Since he died in 1951 copyright protection in the EU ends in 2021 - not 2012. His works will be free from Jan. 2022.

[asdf]

Thank you for answering my questions.
When I asked about the legality of performing those copyrighted editions of his pieces on Worldcat, I was referring to his pieces in general. I can't perform this particular piece; I was just asking if anyone knew if there were any PDFs of it online. You see, I don't really know from what sites people find scores to upload to IMSLP, and I couldn't find it myself.

[steltz]

@Kalliwoda -- geez, talk about mathematically challenged!!! Thanks for the correction - 1951 + 70 . . . . = the year after 2021. Duh.

[Eric]

Re Otaka Atsutade it seems quite possible that he is also one of the composer's children (I seem to recall the conductor Otaka Tadaaki is as well- certainly a relative.)