Kondo studied composition from 1968 to 1972 with Yoshio Hasegawa and Hiroaki Minami at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

His interests include hocket, the music of Ancient Greece, and strong differences in instrumental timbre, all of which are reflected in his compositions.

The chamber version of his 1975 composition Sight Rhythmics reflects the latter in its unusual instrumentation of violin, banjo, steel drum, electric piano, and tuba, for example.

His opera Hagoromo, based on a Noh play and premiered in Florence in 1994, is the unique case in which his music blends western techniques with oriental traditions.

While there, he became personally acquainted with a number of avant-garde American composers, including John Cage and especially Morton Feldman.