Mamoru Samuragochi, a deaf composer of classical music and soundtracks for video games, had someone else write his pieces for more than 10 years, including his best-known score, "Hiroshima Symphony," a lawyer representing him said Wednesday.
Samuragochi, 50, dubbed a modern Beethoven by the media because of the deafness he shares with the legendary 19th-century German composer, is also not the author of Sonatina for Violin, a piece that will accompany the short program performance of Japanese figure skater Daisuke Takahashi at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, according to the lawyer, who wished to remain completely anonymous.
"I've been told that there are certain circumstances that make it hard for the person (who composed the works) to come out in public, and Samuragochi has come to describe himself as the sole composer," the lawyer said.