Musicians

Born in Tokyo in 1886

Born in Tokyo in 1886, Kosaku Yamada composed Japan's first symphony and built the foundations of the country's Western classical music tradition. He studied under Max Bruch in Berlin, and after returning to Japan composed approximately 1,600 works spanning orchestral music to art songs. His roughly 700 Lieder, including 'Akatombo' (Red Dragonfly) and 'Kono Michi' (This Road), represent the pinnacle of Japanese art song. As a conductor, he gave numerous Japanese premieres of Western orchestral works by Debussy, Dvorak, and others.

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