Credits:

Ikebe Shinichiro

Description:

Kunihiko Hashimoto was a leading figure in the Japanese music world before World War II. He studied composition at the Graduate School of the Tokyo School of Music and established his reputation with several art songs he released in the late 1920s. In the 1930s, commissioned by the Ministry of Education, he studied abroad in Vienna, where he studied under Egon Velles and actively embraced new musical styles. During World War II, he was involved in a wide range of activities, including composing numerous wartime songs; however, after resigning from his teaching position following the war, his works were all but forgotten. His Symphony No. 1 from 1940 was composed as a Celebration of the 2,600th Year of the Imperial Era; its second movement, featuring melodies evocative of a longing for the South, is particularly striking. This album marks its world premiere recording. The symphonic suite The