Taro Hakase
| Taro Hakase | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Taro Hakase |
| Born | January 23, 1968 |
| Origin | Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan |
| Genres | Classical music, electronic, instrumental |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, violinist, musician |
| Instruments | Violin |
| Years active | 1990 – Present |
| Labels | Epic/Sony, HATS/Avex, SM Entertainment |
| Associated acts | Kryzler & Kompany, Celine Dion |
| Website | tarohakase |
Taro Hakase (葉加瀬 太郎 Hakase Tarō?, born January 23, 1968 in Suita, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese musician who specialises as a violinist and composer.
Hakase was involved in a Japanese band called Kryzler & Kompany which formed while he was in college. He played the violin, while Tsuneyoshi Saito played keyboards, and Yoshinobu Takeshita played bass. Their first eponymous album was released in September 1990 and sold 74,000 copies. Their second, Kryzler And Company #, sold over 81,000 copies. Steve McClure of Billboard wrote that they have become "Japan's unlikeliest pop idols, attracting hordes of screaming fans, a far cry from the decorum and reserve usually shown by Japan's classical music audiences." The band provided the music for Celine Dion's single "To Love You More" which was recorded as the theme song for the Japanese drama Koibito Yo (My Dear Lover). The song reached number one on Billboard Japan. He then joined Dion on her nationwide promotional tour making television appearances and performed the song during her 1996–1997 Falling into You Tour and her 1998–1999 Let's Talk About Love Tour as guest violinist. When Dion went on hiatus to have her son, Hakase pursued a solo career, and Kryzler & Kompany disbanded after having produced 11 albums.
In 2006, to celebrate 10 years of his success, Hakase reunited with Dion in Las Vegas, Nevada during a performance of her show A New Day... to perform "To Love You More".
He performed "Addio monti (I promessi sposi)" on the 2007 Ennio Morricone tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone, and also co-composed the album Symphonic Poem "Hope" with Yuji Toriyama, a collection of themes used in promotional videos for Final Fantasy XII.
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