© 1999 Lawrence Tuczynski

Title	Japanese Orchestral Music
CD Label	BIS
CD Number	BIS-CD-490
Music Composed by:	Akira Ifukube Karen Tanaka Yuzo Toyama Atsutada Otaka Kaoru Wada
Music by:	Malmo Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by:	Jun'ichi Hirokami
Number of tracks	10
Running time	69:37
Number of discs	1
Year of release/manufacture	1990 (made in Austria)

REVIEW

Only the first two tracks on this CD were composed by Akira Ifukube. Track 3 is by Karen Tanaka, Track 4 by Yuzo Toyama, Track 5 by Atsutada Otaka and Tracks 6-10 by Kaoru Wada. I enjoyed all the tracks on this CD but I must admit I found the non Ifukube tracks to be more captivating. While none of these compositions (to the best of my knowledge) are film music, some of them sound as if they'd fit right into an action or suspense movie. The two Ifukube selections are more classical sounding, light and airy. Overall this CD surprised me by how good it was and how nice of a listening experience it was. The music here is far removed from any Godzilla tracks but is a good listen none the less.

Akira Ifukube Ballata Sinfonica (1943) 1. Prima Ballata. 2. Seconda Ballata Karen Tanaka 3. Prismes pour orchestre (1984) Yuzo Toyama 4. Symphonic Poem "Matsura" (1982) Atsutada Otaka 5. Image pour orchestre (1981) Kaoru Wada 6. I. "Hayashi" 7. II. "Magouta" 8. III. "Odori" 9. IV. "Oiwake" 10. V. "Dozokuteki-Bukyoku"