Matsumura: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 / To the Night of Gethsemane

Featuring

Takuo Yuasa
Ikuyo Kamiya
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
Teizo Matsumura

Did you know?

1/7

Recording & Production

This recording of Symphony No. 2 represents the first-ever performance of its final revised version, which Matsumura worked on for the last time in 2006.

Composition History

To the Night of Gethsemane, Matsumura's final orchestral work, was inspired by Giotto's fresco The Kiss of Judas, depicting Judas betraying Jesus.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Matsumura's music, particularly works like Achime, aimed to explore roots by capturing elements of primitive Japan and reaching across to Asia and India, rejecting dodecaphonic composition.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Matsumura's compositional process was profoundly influenced by Haiku poetry, as he aimed to express maximum meaning and the concept of infinity through condensed forms.

Compositional Technique

Matsumura's Symphony No. 1 is based on monistic principles, where every element derives from a single root, differing from Western dialectic methods with contrasting themes.

Composer Biography

Teizo Matsumura, the composer, began his professional career later than his contemporaries due to a five-and-a-half-year convalescence from tuberculosis.