Television began
with music
On the day television was launched in Japan,
a contemporary dance piece called Japanese
Drums was broadcast live from the Hibiya Kokaido Hall in Tokyo.
Its composer was Ifukube Akira, best-known for his work on the hit film
Godzilla. In February of the same year,
broadcasts included violin recitals and the ballet Swan
Lake, and in March, the opera La Traviata.
The visual elements of opera and ballet are lost in radio broadcasts,
so NHK's early adoption of these programs for TV provided a foretaste
of the more comprehensive possibilities of the coming television age.
Between 1956 and 1976, NHK invited a number of Italian opera companies
to Japan. This contribution to the growth of public interest in the genre
also demonstrated television's ability both to initiate and to nurture
new cultural trends.
Great performers come to Japan
The first visit of Herbert von Karajan and
his Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to Japan was a historic event. Karajan
was invited by the NHK Symphony Orchestra to conduct in 1954, and came
again with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1957. They gave a total of 16 concerts
throughout the country, enabling the Japanese public to see truly world-class
orchestral performances. In those days, only half a million households
had televisions, so eager crowds gathered at the windows of electrical
goods shops to watch Maestro Karajan weave his magic. Subsequent years
saw visits by Karl Boehm with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, La Scala
Opera of Milan, and many other great troupes and performers. By broadcasting
their performances live throughout the country, NHK became the major force
behind Japan's classical music boom.
Catalyst for satellite broadcasting
The NHK Symphony Orchestra, (the Japan Symphony
Orchestra until 1951), has always formed the nucleus of NHK's music programming.
The orchestra has toured widely overseas, its first around-the-world tour
coming soon after the end of the war. The orchestra has also invited many
famous conductors from abroad, such as Maestros Rosenstock, Sawallisch
and Dutois.
NHK Symphony Hour
Wakamura Mayumi, Ikebe Shinichiro |
The NHK Symphony's performances were first
broadcast live in Hope Concert during
the days of radio. The introduction of TV led to such programs as NHK
Symphony Concert Hall and NHK Symphony
Hour, while the launch of satellite broadcasting has enabled the
production of NHK Symphony B-mode Concert,
which takes full advantage of the superior sound quality of B-mode stereo.
This ideal blend of quality performance interpreted by advanced technology
contributed to the successful start of NHK's satellite channels. |
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Cultural treasure
trove
A commemorative kabuki production featuring
Onoe Shoroku II and Onoe Baiko VII was part of the first program ever
to be shown on TV in Japan. Live broadcasts of kabuki performances from
the theater have been a regular feature ever since. In 1955, NHK initiated
studio productions of kabuki for the program Theatrical
Arts, recording for posterity such illustrious performers of postwar
Japan as Ichikawa Danjuro XI, Nakamura Tokizo III and Ichikawa Ennosuke
II. NHK amassed more than 250 precious films, a unique and invaluable
archive. This project was followed by Dance
Panorama (1956-61), a regular program that was later renamed Traditional
Performing Arts Theater. Since starting in 1975, NHK
Traditional Performing Arts has featured Living National Treasures
from all areas of the traditional performing arts. This is the kind of
quality project that only NHK has the resources to produce, and the 30th
edition was transmitted in 2003.
NHK Traditional Performing Arts:
Shunkyo Kagamijishi |
The Musical Fantasy
series, which makes extensive use of digital technology, has won several
major international awards including a coveted International Emmy. Bringing
traditional material into the modern age and helping to nurture and preserve
Japan's artistic heritage, the series also offers program-makers the chance
to use state-of-the-art technology and the latest visual techniques. The
results are modern-looking works in traditional genres.
The ultimate
mini-program
Classical Music Album |
The concept of the mini-program was raised at a lunch meeting of
NHK executives in 1975. When one of them mused aloud on the desirability
of "a five-minute program slot just before the 9 o'clock news,"
the classical music director suggested making it with classical
music, combined with appropriate visuals. The first person said,
"Let's go for it. And let's bring it alive with visuals from
the country where the music was composed." A director and a
cameraman were dispatched abroad for this mission—a tough 75-day
shoot for 25 pieces of classical music. The series, called Classical
Music Album, was received enthusiastically by viewers, despite
the fact that many had little or no knowledge of classical music.
The series has now continued for over 25 years, and has featured
900 pieces of music. |
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