Now regarded as one of the most important composers of the second half of the twentieth century, Toru Takemitsu was the first Japanese composer to gain international status. This selection of his piano music, extending over 43 years, offers an inclusive overview of his stylistic development from Romance (1949), the nineteen-year-old composer’s earliest surviving piano work, to the hypnotic Rain Tree Sketch II (1992), Takemitsu’s last work for solo piano. The music ranges widely in style from Pause ininterrompue (Uninterrupted rest) (1952-59), which shows the influence of Debussy, Scriabin and Messiaen, and the aleatoric Piano Distance (1961), to the nocturnal and meditative For Away (1973) inspired by Indonesian gamelan music.

Toru Takemitsu

Romance

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


Romance 00:04:15
Lento in due movimenti

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


I. Adagio 00:04:27
II. Lento misteriosamente 00:04:45
Pause ininterrompue (Uninterrupted Rest)

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


I. Slowly, sadly and as if to converse with 00:01:56
II. Quietly and with a cruel reverberation 00:03:06
III. A song of love 00:01:18
Piano Distance

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


Piano Distance 00:04:16
For away

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


For away 00:06:51
Les yeux clos

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


Les yeux clos 00:06:17
Les yeux clos II

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


Les yeux clos II 00:06:44
Rain Tree Sketch

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


Rain Tree Sketch 00:03:35
Rain Tree Sketch II

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


Rain Tree Sketch II 00:04:11
Piano Pieces for Children

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


No. 1. Breeze 00:00:49
No. 2. Clouds 00:01:37
Litany (recomposition of Lento in due movimenti)

Fukuma, Kotaro, piano


I. Adagio 00:04:37
II. Lento misterioso 00:05:12



Total Playing Time: 01:03:56