Born in Tokyo on 8 October 1930, died there on 20 February 1996; Toru Takemitsu was a composer. He was largely self-taught and in 1951 was among the founders of the artists’ group Jikken Kobo in Tokyo. His music links European modernism, above all Claude Debussy and Olivier Messiaen, with Japanese aesthetics; the principle of Ma, of meaningful silence, is central to it: the composed tone does not compete with silence but brings it to life. His works include November Steps for biwa, shakuhachi and orchestra, the water cycles around Waterscape and music for more than ninety films. In the Cybele catalogue his Rain Spell, composed in 1982, is heard on Colours of Silence (2003), recorded by the Ensemble gelberklang.
Toru Takemitsu
Composer
