I discovered a new favorite composer.
Why did I never hear of him before?
YouTube video: May 10, 2012 La Jolla Symphony. Dir. Steven Schick.
Toru Takemitsu (1930 to 1996) was the most influential Japanese composer of the 20th century.
I am bowled over by his music and captivated by his life story. Takemitsu’s achievements include the following:
composing several hundred independent works of music
scoring more than 90 films
publishing 20 books
founding the Jikken Kobo (Experiental Workshop in Japan, a group of avant-garde artists who distanced themselves from academia)
Source: Wikipedia
How did he become so prolific?
As Anna Miller-Tiedeman says, “Life just happens.” With experience, intelligence (common sense), and intuition, the main ingredients of a developed person, according to Miller-Tiedeman, Takemitsu moved from rejecting his Japanese heritage to embracing it.
The key is to believe in yourself.
It’s not whether or not you graduate from college. Miller-Tiedeman says, “Your career is your life, and your potential is limited only by your endowments, including your motivation, imagination, and curosity.”
With no musical training, Takemitsu fell in love with music at the age of 16 and remained self-taught throughout his musical career. Traditional Japanese music turned him off, reminding him of his “bitter memories of war.” He served unhappily in the Japanese armed forces and was ill throughout his service in the U.S. armed forces.
During a visit to Japan, upon hearing Takemitsu’s Requiem for string orchestra (1957), composer Igor Stravinsky invited him to lunch and shortly thereafter, Takemitsu received a commision for a new work, which was premiered by the San Francisco Symphony.
From contact with John Cage’s music that incorporated Zen, silence and other Eastern practicies, Takemitsu came to recognize the value of his own traditions and incorporated traditional Japnese intruments into his Western style. He said:
“There is no doubt ... the various countries and cultures of the world have begun a journey toward the geographic and historic unity of all peoples ... The old and new exist within me with equal weight."[38] Forever breaking music rules, he felt it was far more important that “sounds have the freedom to breathe…just as one cannot plan his life, neither can he plan music.” Source: Wikipedia.
Film Compositions
Takemitsu receive music awards for his film compositions around the world, including the following:
1958 Tableau noir
1979 Empire of Passion (愛の亡霊)
1985 Fire Festival
1986 Ran (乱)
1990 Rikyu (利休)
1994 Fantasma/Cantos
1996 Sharaku (写楽)
Conductor Seiji Ozawa wrote, in a Forward to Takemitsu’s book, Confronting Silence (1995), “I am very proud of my friend Tōru Takemitsu. He is the first Japanese composer to write for a world audience and achieve international recognition.”
Takemitsu also wrote piano music for children.
Something To Think About
View the YouTube video at the beginning of this post, “From me flows what you call Time.” What do you like about Takemitsu’s music?
What instruments are played in the video?
How do you feel from listening to Takemitsu’s music?
Ask a child how Takemitsu’s Piano Pieces for Children played in the above YouTube video might make them think of Breeze and Clouds.