With the coming of the 21st century, the world now faces the wave of ongoing changes. These changes extend widely into various fields such as politics, economies, cultures, and others. Consequently, they necessitate us to reevaluate our values and views for the world. These changes confine not only into limited nations or regions, but also permeate into a global scope. In other words, changes that have been progressing are what the mankind has never experienced before.

These changes in the society bring about the uncertainty for the future, depression, and confusion among us all. Under these circumstances, what needed most to face the future is to learn from our history correctly. History will give us the guideline for the future.

Modernization of Japan in contemporary era, in particular, progressed by absorbing Western civilization actively. This in turn signifies that the identity of the Japanese people has been reoriented as well in accord with such civilization. Today, the reorientation of Japan into Western civilization has been progressing in various fields such as in the history of music, for example.

Owing to the wide development of various media various kinds of music from all over the world are available in our every day life. It is not an exaggeration that we are drawn in the flood of music. Under these circumstances, the so-called classics of modern western music have significant impacts on the history of music. That is primarily because of our ability in predicting the coming trend in music through the reevaluation of contemporary western music for its superb nature.

Recollecting contemporary modernization of Japan since the Meiji era, we note that it took examples mainly from three European nations, namely England, France, and Germany. In the history of music, however, it was Germany that played predominant role of modernization in Japan, followed by France and Italy in just a secondary level. Therefore, music histories of Russia, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Scandinavian nations, and other European regions have been totally neglected. So far, people paid only a scan attention to works of a few limited music composers in these regions, or at the most they have been treated as minor episodes.

Would these circumstances be appropriate? Definitely no, and we need to question to the present situation. Posing a question to the existing writing in music history, in fact, means to reevaluate each music composer and/or their works. However, it is insignificant if such reevaluations are merely to rephrase existing writings, and praise the composers and their works.

In stead, the true objective here is to free ourselves from the existing theories and writings. Only when it is accomplished properly, we are able to broaden our horizon to rediscover the unexplored. With these widely opened attitudes, we enrich ourselves to recognize our possibilities, and to foresee the prospect for the future.

We consider Friedrich Daniel Rudolph Kuhlau (1786~1832) as one of the great music composers who will answer to the question raised above.

September 19, 1999