K.Yamada: Symphony in F Major 'Triumph and Peace'

Kôsçak Yamada - Symphony in F Major "Triumph and Peace" (1912)

Conducted by Takuo Yusaua with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

I. Moderato - 00:00
II. Adagio Non Tanto E Poco Marciale - 8:45
III. Poco Vivace - 20:07
IV. Adagio Molto - Molto Allegro E Triofante - 25:56

Kôsçak Yamada belongs to the group of the first fully-fledged composers that Japan produced. He was also a prominent conductor, organizer, and leader of the Japanese music world. As a great pioneer, he played a definitive rôle in helping Western music take root in Japan. In the 1860s, after 250 years of isolation, Japan restored extensive contacts with Western civilization, including music. Military bands were formed and in 1879 Ongaku-Torishirabe-Gakari, a national research centre of Western music (later to become the Tokyo Music School), was founded. Japanese traditional musicians under the Emperor started to learn Western music, and Japanese people were eager to make up for lost time in every field.

The Symphony in F major 'Triumph and Peace', which amounts to the first-ever symphony by a Japanese composer, was completed on 8th November 1912.