Hirayama was born in 1923 in Tokyo. Her parents were lawyers and she had a good education. One of her first musical influences was the Japanese composer
Fumio Hayasaka. Hirayama owned a full score of "Canti del Capricorno" with Scelsi's handwritten comments and played an important role in the origination process of the 20-song musical cycle. In 2006, at the age of 82, she decided to record the "Canti del Capricorno" again. Hirayama is famous for her "dirty voice", as she described it herself, and her gift for musical improvisation. Her voice covered four octaves. == References ==