Choreographic Symphony "Maria Magdalena"

The Choreographic Symphony "Maria Magdalena" is an orchestral composition written by the Japanese composer Kōsaku Yamada in 1916–1918. It is based on the second act of an unfinished ballet sketched by Yamada in 1916, which was in turn based on Maurice Maeterlinck's 1910 play Marie-Magdeleine. The second act (Joseph's House in Arimathaea) was orchestrated as an independent piece during the composer's stay in the United States between 1917 and 1919. The piece was premiered in Carnegie Hall on 16 October 1918, conducted by the composer. With D major as the main key, the piece focuses on the struggles of the titular character Mary Magdalene, with the triumph of her faith in the end. It had to be reconstructed multiple times afterwards due to the loss of the manuscript.

Background

In 1910, and thanks to the patronage of Japanese industrialist Koyata Iwasaki, Yamada moved to Germany where he enrolled in the Prussian Academy of Arts and studied composition under Max Bruch and Karl Leopold Wolf. There he was the first Japanese composer to write orchestral music in genres such as the overture, symphony and symphonic poem, as well as the first to compose an opera. Due to the lack of performance opportunities in Germany, Yamada returned to Japan in 1913, hoping to return soon to Europe and permanently establish himself there. The outbreak of World War I changed his plans, and from then on he dedicated himself to support Japanese classical music.