- Abe composed bulk of this symphony between 1953-4, and completed it in 1957.
- From 1948-1954, Abe directed Japan’s Imperial Orchestra, an ensemble in the employ of the Emperor, with musicians who were skilled in both Western classical music and Japanese court music, or gagaku. This was Abe’s first immersive exposure to Japanese traditional music – his training had been in the late romantic Western style. Both styles influence Abe’s 1950s compositions.
- This symphony premiered on May 9, 1957. The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra played the premiere, under the direction of Hideo Saito, a conductor who taught Seiji Ozawa.
- The symphony won Abe the 1957 Mainichi Music Award, a prestigious accolade that helped establish him as a major Japanese composer.1
Sources
- Morihide Katayama, liner notes to Abe: Symphony No. 1 / Divertimento / Sinfonietta, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Yablonsky, Naxos 8.557987, CD, 2007.
Cut IDs
24070