Nagauta Symphony

The Nagauta Symphony is a symphony in one movement composed in 1934 by Japanese composer Kosaku Yamada.

Description[]

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]

Instrumentation[]

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]

Recordings[]

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

References[]