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It's Forgotten Masterpiece Friday!
Kosaku Yamada (1886-1965) was one of the pioneers of Western music in Asia: he was the first Asian to study music in Europe, the first Asian to compose for the Western-style orchestra, the first Asian to conduct orchestras outside Asia, and the founder of Asia's first professional orchestra. Born in Tokyo in 1886, he attended an English missionary school and subsequently worked as a church organist while studying cello and singing at the Tokyo Music School. As he began to teach himself composition, his cello teacher, a German named August Junker, recommended him for admission to the Berlin Musikhochschule. Yamada traveled to Berlin in 1910 and spent more than three years there studying under Max Bruch. Forced to leave Germany by the outbreak of the First World War, Yamada returned to Japan for the duration of the war before completing his studies in New York. In 1926, he founded the New Symphony Orchestra (now the NHK Symphony Orchestra), the first professional symphony orchestra in Asia; as its music director, he conducted Japan's earliest performances of music by Dvořák, Wagner, Debussy, Sibelius, Gershwin, and Shostakovich among others.
Yamada's name is often given as "Kôsçak Yamada," a transliteration he adopted early in his studies in Germany and continued to use when in Europe and the United States for the rest of his life. He was often ridiculed because the standard transliteration "Kosaku" sounded like a combination of the Italian "cosa" (thing) and the German "kuh" (cow). "Kôsçak" was a fanciful transliteration of his own invention, and had the added benefit of allowing him to pass for Turkish, a more familiar nationality in Germany in the early 20th century.
In 1912, while in Germany, Yamada composed his Symphony in F major. It was a landmark work in that it was the first-ever symphony by an Asian composer; but it was also rather conservative in style for the time, reaching back almost to the early Romantic era. Because there were no symphony orchestras in Japan at the time, Yamada's symphony received its premiere in New York, in a 1918 concert in which Yamada also became the first Asian to conduct the New York Philharmonic. Years after it was composed, Yamada appended the title "Triumph and Peace" to his first symphony, retroactively dedicating it to Japan's victory as part of the Allied forces in World War I.
Although his "Triumph and Peace" Symphony remains Yamada's most frequently performed work today, it is hardly representative of his style. Within a few years after completing his studies, Yamada's music had turned toward late Romantic and Impressionist trends. Inno Meiji, composed in 1921, represents the mature Yamada. It was labeled a "Sinfonia" but is more of a symphonic poem in the vein of Richard Strauss, depicting the Meiji Restoration in music. Inno Meiji is especially notable for its use of traditional Japanese instruments in the framework of a large late-Romantic orchestra, most notably the hichiriki (a double-reed instrument heard beginning at 13:38 of this recording) and a variety of Japanese percussion instruments.
Kosaku Yamada (1886-1965) was one of the pioneers of Western music in Asia: he was the first Asian to study music in Europe, the first Asian to compose for the Western-style orchestra, the first Asian to conduct orchestras outside Asia, and the founder of Asia's first professional orchestra. Born in Tokyo in 1886, he attended an English missionary school and subsequently worked as a church organist while studying cello and singing at the Tokyo Music School. As he began to teach himself composition, his cello teacher, a German named August Junker, recommended him for admission to the Berlin Musikhochschule. Yamada traveled to Berlin in 1910 and spent more than three years there studying under Max Bruch. Forced to leave Germany by the outbreak of the First World War, Yamada returned to Japan for the duration of the war before completing his studies in New York. In 1926, he founded the New Symphony Orchestra (now the NHK Symphony Orchestra), the first professional symphony orchestra in Asia; as its music director, he conducted Japan's earliest performances of music by Dvořák, Wagner, Debussy, Sibelius, Gershwin, and Shostakovich among others.
Yamada's name is often given as "Kôsçak Yamada," a transliteration he adopted early in his studies in Germany and continued to use when in Europe and the United States for the rest of his life. He was often ridiculed because the standard transliteration "Kosaku" sounded like a combination of the Italian "cosa" (thing) and the German "kuh" (cow). "Kôsçak" was a fanciful transliteration of his own invention, and had the added benefit of allowing him to pass for Turkish, a more familiar nationality in Germany in the early 20th century.
In 1912, while in Germany, Yamada composed his Symphony in F major. It was a landmark work in that it was the first-ever symphony by an Asian composer; but it was also rather conservative in style for the time, reaching back almost to the early Romantic era. Because there were no symphony orchestras in Japan at the time, Yamada's symphony received its premiere in New York, in a 1918 concert in which Yamada also became the first Asian to conduct the New York Philharmonic. Years after it was composed, Yamada appended the title "Triumph and Peace" to his first symphony, retroactively dedicating it to Japan's victory as part of the Allied forces in World War I.
Although his "Triumph and Peace" Symphony remains Yamada's most frequently performed work today, it is hardly representative of his style. Within a few years after completing his studies, Yamada's music had turned toward late Romantic and Impressionist trends. Inno Meiji, composed in 1921, represents the mature Yamada. It was labeled a "Sinfonia" but is more of a symphonic poem in the vein of Richard Strauss, depicting the Meiji Restoration in music. Inno Meiji is especially notable for its use of traditional Japanese instruments in the framework of a large late-Romantic orchestra, most notably the hichiriki (a double-reed instrument heard beginning at 13:38 of this recording) and a variety of Japanese percussion instruments.