Hiroshi Wakasugi , Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra - Victor Recorded Masterpieces (1966-71) - Beethoven: The Countryside, Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Haydn: Astonishment, The Army, etc. - Japan 3 SACD Hybrid

Credits:

Hiroshi Wakasugi , Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra

Description:

Selected masterpieces recorded by Hiroshi Wakasugi & Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra between 1966-71 and reissued from analog masters! The first recording by a Japanese orchestra (Haydn Symphony) and other masterpieces by Wakasugi, who later became a world-famous young composer, are now reissued here! Mastering was done in pursuit of the original sound. These recordings were one of the first full-scale stereo recordings of Western music by Japanese conductors, performers, and record companies, and are important for the development of Western music in Japan. Although some of the recordings have been released as digital downloads, this is the first time that the recordings, including the CDs, have been released on DISC.The reissue also includes commercially available recordings from that period, some of which were distributed to schools as educational materials. At the same time, the duo also recorded Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" Suite and Mozart's Jupiter, but unfortunately the master tapes of these pieces were not available in Victor's storage warehouse. This time, we have selected mainly sound sources excluding the above two pieces and contemporary music recordings. Hiroshi Wakasugi made his conducting debut in 1959 while still a student at the University of the Arts with "The Marriage of Figaro" at the Nikikai, and in 1963 he became a conducting fellow at the NHK Symphony Orchestra, where he continued his studies in the field until 1965, when he was appointed "conductor" of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. Wakasugi lived up to expectations and took the world of music by storm with a succession of successful Japan premieres of large-scale vocal works such as Schoenberg's "Glee" (1967), Wagner's "Parsifal" (awarded the Mainichi Art Award that year), and Penderecki's "Luke Passion" (awarded the Art Festival Award in 1968). Victor's recording of Wakasugi and the Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra was made at a time when Wakasugi and the Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra were leading the Japanese music world with great strength. At that time, Japanese recordings of Japanese performers were usually limited to contemporary Japanese music.However, as stated in the liner notes by Koji Nishimura when Beethoven's "Denen" was first published, "If only we could absorb the interpretation and techniques from the tradition and fully demonstrate our fine sensitivity and rich imagination, we should be able to make the 'Denen Symphony' our own song. This earnest desire led to the realization of these recordings. This was the second recording of "Denen" by a Japanese conductor and a Japanese orchestra, following the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hiroyuki Iwashiro (Columbia), except for bookstore distribution and private recordings. For the same reason, a recording of Berlioz's "Fantasy" was made in February 1970. At that time, there was no recording of Berlioz's "Fantasie" by a Japanese conductor and a Japanese orchestra. Berlioz's works were one of his signature repertoire, including the Japanese premieres of "Romeo and Juliet" in 1966 and "The Trojans" in 1974 with the Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra. (1/2)