Qunihico Hashimoto was one of the leading Japanese composers in the first half of the twentieth century. His synthesis of Japanese and European musical forms was founded on two years of study and travel in the West. Symphony No. 2 was commissioned to celebrate Japan's new postwar Constitution, but combines jubilation with an introspective nostalgia. Three Wasan sets Buddhist texts which describe the beauty of 'pure land' or heaven, merging traditional chant with bel canto expressiveness. Innovative for it's time, the early Scherzo con sentimental melds Japanese music with Western neo-classicism. Hashimoto's Symphony No. 1 can be heard on 8.555881. Takuo Yuasa regularly performs throughout Europe and the Far East. In Japan he has held the position of Principal Conductor with the Gumma Symphony Orchestra and in the United Kingdom he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and of the Ulster Orchestra in Northern Ireland.