Yamada Kosaku

Yamada Kosaku

Yamada Kōsaku , also Kósçak Yamada ( Japanese 山田 耕 筰 , Yamada Kōsaku ; born June 9, 1886 in Tokyo ; † December 29, 1965 ibid) was a Japanese composer and conductor. He is considered a pioneer of classical instrumental music in Japan and was one of the first Japanese opera and symphony composers.

Life

Yamada studied singing and music theory with August Junker in Tokyo until 1908 and composition with Max Bruch until 1914 at the Prussian Academy of the Arts . In addition to his work as a composer, he has performed internationally as a conductor. He founded the Japanese Music Theater Society in 1920, the Japanese Symphony Orchestra Society in 1925 and was involved in international exchange through music. - In 1936 he took part in the art competition on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Berlin with the composition of a march. However, his contribution was not awarded.

Yamada composed eight operas (including Korofune ), five symphonies and six symphonic poems , three “dance poems”, an orchestral suite, choral works, songs - his song “Rote Libelle” (Japanese “Akatombo”: text by Miki Rofū ) is u. A. known nationwide through his mediation in music lessons in Japanese schools - and piano pieces as well as some film music (among others for "The Daughter of the Samurai" by Arnold Fanck and Itami Mansaku , 1937). He was stylistically influenced by the European late Romanticism, but used Japanese melodies. His oeuvre includes more than 1,600 works. In 1940 he was awarded the Asahi Prize for his symphonic work .

From his stay and studies in Berlin (1910-13) he used the name Kósçak Yamada , since the transliteration of Kosaku sounds like Italian cosa (“what; thing”) and German “cow”, while Kósçak with the French digraph sç for a voiceless s and the missing u comes closer to the original Japanese pronunciation. In doing so, he took account of the western custom of putting the first name before the family name.

In 1956 Yamada was awarded the Order of Culture .

Works (selection)

• Reisho , 1909
• Variations for piano, 1912
• Overture in D major , 1912
• The autumn celebration for choir and orchestra, 1912
• Wedding Sounds , 1913
• Ochitaru Tennyo , 1913
• Alladine et Palomides , 1913
• Shichinin no Ōjo , 1913-16
• Ayame , 1931
• Kurofune ("The Black Ships"), Opera, 1940
• Karatachi no Hana for voice and piano
• Kono Michi for voice and piano
• Akatombo for voice and piano

literature

• Yayoi Uno Everett, Frederick Lau: Locating East Asia in Western art music. Wesleyan University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8195-6662-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Everett, Lau: Locating East Asia in Western art music. P. 274.
2. ^ Christian Utz: New Music and Interculturality. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3-515-07964-5 , pp. 210f.

Web links

• Sheet music and audio files by Yamada Kōsaku in the International Music Score Library Project
• Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Yamada Kōsaku.

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Yamada is the family name, Kōsaku the first name.