The "Japanese Beethoven" who did not compose
Japan, February 2014
This case is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places and events in the game do not portray real people. The account below is a factual summary, based on public sources, of the case that served as inspiration.
Mamoru Samuragochi was celebrated in Japan as a deaf composer, author of a symphony dedicated to Hiroshima and of video game scores. In February 2014, music teacher Takashi Niigaki revealed that he had composed Samuragochi's works for eighteen years, based on instructions and sketches, and that the composer could hear better than he claimed.
Samuragochi admitted the deception; recordings were withdrawn, concerts canceled and Symphony No. 1 was dropped from programs. Niigaki continued his career as a composer under his own name.
Sources
In the game
The Golden Organ
Ouro Preto Winter Festival, Matriz do Pilar church, 11:05 pm. Aurélio Fontes, the church organist for forty years, was found dead in the upper choir loft, at the foot of the organ bench.
The game borrows the famous musician who signs work composed by someone else and the risk of the true authorship coming out. The murder, the characters and the outcome are fiction.
