Nagauta Symphony

Kosaku Yamada was the first major Japanese composer to study the European tradition, and the first to write in the symphonic and operatic forms.[1] He was responsible for introducing Japanese audiences to much of the European orchestral tradition through his conducting.[2] In his compositions, Yamada had been working to combine European traditions with Japanese classical music since at least 1921, when he composed Inno Meiji which combined Japanese and western instruments.[1] Composed in 1934, the Nagauta Symphony represented the culmination of this work.[3]

For this work, Yamada composed music for the western orchestra which is used to counterpoint a classical nagauta, the music which accompanies the kabuki.[4] The symphony is subtitled Tsurukame after the name of the nagauta which is used.[3] Composed in 1857,[4] the text celebrates the Emperor of Japan and the imperial court.[3] The symphony is in one movement with a duration of approximately 17 minutes.[3]

The Nagauta Symphony uses a western orchestra and voices, as well as an ensemble of traditional Japanese musical instruments.[4] The Japanese ensemble consists of several shamisen and percussion.[3]

• Naxos Records (August 28, 2007)
  • Takuo Yuasa, Conductor
  • Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
  • Touon