JAPANESE SYMPHONISTS: LOST MAESTRO WORKS & NEW CREATIONS/ Orchestra Triptyque (2CD)

[A CD That Fills a Gap in Japanese Music History]
"Japanese Symphonists: Lost Symphonic Works and New Creations"
Featuring the world premiere of Nobutaka Mizuno's Symphony No. 5 and the first-ever recordings of works by Yasushi Akutagawa, Toshiro Mayuzumi, Minoru Miki, and Sohei Kano

■ Highlights
(1) Symphony No. 5 by an 88-year-old composer and a massive symphony sealed away for 62 years
This album features the commissioned premiere of Symphony No. 5 (2022), written by Nobutaka Mizuno at the age of 88 (at the time of composition). It is an overwhelming work bursting with the energy of jazz and the chaos of deafening volume. Additionally, Minoru Miki's Symphony "New Year's Eve" (1960)?which had not been performed for 62 years due to its unconventional instrumentation (four tenor trombones, two tubas, two pianos, six timpani, and a clavichord)?finally receives its world premiere. The orchestra's full force collides with the master's score.

(2) The First Recordings of the Lost Masterpieces by Yasushi Akutagawa and Toshiro Mayuzumi
"GX CONCERTO" (soloist: Ayaka Takegai), written by Yasushi Akutagawa for the "Yamaha Electone GX-1"; Toshiro Mayuzumi's final work, ‘Passacaglia' (1997); and "Kimigayo" arranged by Mayuzumi will all be released on disc for the first time.

(3) Sohei Kano's Symphony No. 2, "Acoustic Encirclement of the Spirit's Howl," Commissioned and World-Premiered
The 2024 performance realized an unprecedented endeavor: arranging the orchestra in a 360-degree configuration, extending from the stage to the four corners of the audience. Kano's Symphony No. 2, for which he designed the acoustics specifically for each hall, has been recorded here as its world premiere.

(4) Masterpieces by Akira Ifukube, Ikuma Dan, and Kaoru Wada Also Included
The collection includes Akira Ifukube's "Sinfonia Tapkara," Ikuma Dan's "Symphony No. 1 in A Major" and "Festive March (Orchestral Version)," and Kaoru Wada's "MATSURI!" (from the anime "Puzzle & Dragons"?concert version premiere). The broad history and current state of Japanese symphonic music are condensed into these two discs.

DISC 1：2022年12月3日(土)なかのZERO大ホール
1. 黛敏郎 編曲 日本国歌「君が代」
2. 黛敏郎 パッサカリア (遺作・1997)
3. 芥川也寸志 GX CONCERTO (1974)
4. 三木稔 交響曲「除夜」 (1960) 世界初演
5-8. 水野修孝 交響曲第5番(2022) 委嘱初演

DISC 2：2024年10月19日(土)練馬文化センター大ホール
1. 團伊玖磨 祝典行進曲(管弦楽版・1959/1976)
2. 團伊玖磨 交響曲第1番 イ調 (1949/1957)
3-5. 伊福部昭 シンフォニア・タプカーラ (1954/1979)
6.和田薫 MATSURI! (アニメ「パズドラ」より) コンサート版初演
7.鹿野草平 交響曲第2番《霊囁の音響包囲》(2024) 委嘱初演


*Disc 1: Lost Symphonic Works and New Creations (Concert recorded on December 3, 2022)
On this day, marking the ensemble’s 10th anniversary, they brought to life a collection of endangered masterpieces once deemed unplayable.
They sought to express hope for a new future through music, moving beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Toshiro Mayuzumi: Passacaglia / National Anthem "Kimigayo" (arranged by Toshiro Mayuzumi)
An unfinished final work that Toshiro Mayuzumi continued composing until just before his death in 1997. Classic masterpieces appear and vanish like a kaleidoscope, and just as the music reaches its climax, the sound abruptly cuts off. Was this the composer’s bitter irony upon realizing his impending death, or a question posed to the future? The included version of "Kimigayo" embodies a prayer for enduring peace and tranquility within the sonic beauty of traditional Japanese court music.

Yasushi Akutagawa: GX CONCERTO
A legendary concerto written in 1975 for the pinnacle of massive electronic instruments, the "Yamaha Electone GX-1." This piece, in which the rock-and-progressive charm of Yasushi Akutagawa explodes, has been revived after half a century as a new sound, alongside the vast possibilities of the latest Electone EL-02X.

Minoru Miki: Symphony "New Year’s Eve"
Four tenor trombones, two tubas, two pianos, and six timpani. Completely disregarding competition regulations, the composer created this unconventional instrumentation solely to achieve the "shocking sound" he sought. Thus, this long-lost symphony?which had lain dormant for 62 years?shattered worldly desires with the 108 strikes of the New Year’s Eve bell and finally gave birth to its world premiere.

Nobutaka Mizuno: Symphony No. 5
The latest symphony penned by the composer, now 88 years old. Swirling with the high volume and energy of jazz and rock, the overwhelming vitality expressed in the grand tutti (full orchestra) performance blows the concept of age out of the water. Shika

*Disc 2: Japanese Symphony Composers and Spatial Innovation (Performance: October 19, 2024) This recording captures the origins of Japanese symphonic music and the challenge to break through conventional notions of space, as it resounded through the Grand Hall of the Nerima Cultural Center.

Ikuma Dan: Festive March (Orchestral Version)
Composed in 1959 to commemorate the wedding of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and Her Imperial Highness Princess Michiko (now Their Majesties the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita). Written without employing any conventions of the former military band, the composer composed it while singing in his heart, "Farewell, iron helmet; farewell, military boots; hello, blue sky." It is a march of a true era of peace, filled with dignity and elegance.

Ikuma Dan: Symphony No. 1 in A Major
This historic debut work earned the composer the Grand Prize (1st place) at the NHK 25th Anniversary Orchestral Competition when he was just 25 years old. It boasts a remarkable level of perfection, incorporating the elements of the traditional four-movement structure?formal beauty, lyricism, scherzo, and dynamism?into a single, sweeping flow, much like a scroll painting.

Akira Ifukube: Sinfonia Tapkara
Completed in 1954, the same year the film *Godzilla* was released, this is Akira Ifukube’s only symphony. "Tapkara" means "to dance standing up" in the Ainu language, and the piece is imbued with memories of time spent with the Ainu people and a deep connection to nature. Through frenetic repetition, it reaches a trance-like state, ultimately culminating in a dance of ecstasy.

Kaoru Wada: MATSURI! (from the anime "Puzzle & Dragons")
A refreshing piece brimming with Japanese flair by Kaoru Wada, who is active across a wide range of genres from contemporary music to anime soundtracks. Originally a soundtrack piece, this work has been arranged for concert performance and will receive its stage premiere. The orchestra’s powerful rendition of "Matsuri" fills the space with the energy of a festival.