The Japanese composer Toshiro Mayuzumi enjoyed a distinguished international reputation on a par with that of Toru Takemitsu. Versatile and prolific, he contributed music for films, the theatre and broadcasts. This recording features two of his most rhythmically exciting and exotically scored works from the 1960s, the ballet Bugaku, based on ancient Japanese imperial dance music, and the Mandala Symphony, inspired by Buddhist teaching. Symphonic Mood was Mayuzumi’s first orchestral composition, while the colourful Rumba Rhapsody here receives what is probably its first ever performance.