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Tōru Takemitsu
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Tōru Takemitsu (1930–1996) was almost entirely self-taught and began in the artists' group Jikken Kōbō, where he experimented with tape and electronics. He wrote music for nearly a hundred films. In them he worked like a sound designer: in Seppuku (1962) the biwa sounds alongside electronically processed sounds, in Suna no onna (1964) strings are treated so that they resemble sand and wind, and in Kaidan (1964) he used sounds such as breaking wood. For Kurosawa's Ran (1985), by contrast, he wrote a large orchestral work reminiscent of Mahler. He allowed a great deal of silence and used music sparingly, which made his influence on later film composers great.
Listening
Listening tip. Listen to the tone colour rather than the melody: long, floating chords, silence as part of the music and processed instrumental sounds.
Opening Credits (Main Title) · Tohru Takemitsu, 1985
Seppuku: DB1 Music 2 · Tōru Takemitsu, 1962
Funeral Music (from Black Rain) · Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & Marin Alsop, 1989
Harakiri Theme · Toru Takemitsu, 1962- Opening Credits (Main Title) · Toru Takemitsu, 1985
Discography
Studio albums
- 1968Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphony / Takemitsu: November Steps
- 1969Asterism / Requiem / Green / The Dorian Horizon
- 1969Coral Island / Water Music / Vocalism Ai
- 1972Prison Song / Turris Campanarum Sonantium / Seasons
- 1973ハープの個展
- 1980In an Autumn Garden
- 1980天平の甍 オリジナル・サウンドトラック (soundtrack)
- 1982水の風景
- 1983Chamber & Piano Works
- 1986Winter / Marginalia / Gitimalya
- 1990Film Music By Toru Takemitsu - Volume 1
- 1990November Steps
- 1991Solo Piano Works
- 1991Takemitsu Played by John Williams
- 1992Viola Concerto "A String Around Autumn" / "November Steps" / Eclipse for Shakuhachi and Biwa
- 1992Visions / November Steps / Requiem / Far Calls, Coming, far!
- 1993Rising Sun (soundtrack)
- 1993Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez / Takemitsu: To the Edge of Dream / Arnold: Guitar Concerto
- 1994A Song of Circles and Triangles: Choral Works
- 1994Cantos
- 1995Carter: Partita / Berio: Continuo / Takemitsu: Visions
- 1995Gémeaux / Dream/Window / Spirit Garden
- 1995Toward the Sea
- 1995Works for Flute and Guitar
- 1996A Flock Descends
- 1996Emotion: Trumpet Solo Pieces
- 1996Messages for the 21st Century, Vol. 4
- 1996Peter Serkin Plays the Music of Toru Takemitsu
- 1996Rain Tree: The Complete Solo Piano Music of Tōru Takemitsu
- 1996Requiem
- 1997Autumn
- 1997In Memoriam
- 1997Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du Temps / Takemitsu: Quatrain II
- 1997My Way of Life
- 1998Chamber Music by Tōru Takemitsu
- 1998From Me Flows What You Call Time / Twill by Twilight / Requiem
- 1998Music of Takemitsu
- 1998Orchestral Works IV: Coral Island
- 1998Quotation of Dream
- 199920th Century Music for Flute and Orchestra
- 2000All in Twilight
- 2000Complete Works for Solo Piano
- 2000I Hear the Water Dreaming
- 2000Landscapes
- 2000Mozart: Klarinettenkonzert / Debussy: Première Rapsodie / Takemitsu: Fantasma/Cantos
- 2000November Steps / A String Around Autumn / Requiem for String Orchestra, etc.
- 2000Rain Spell
- 2001Between Tides and Other Chamber Music
- 2001How Slow the Wind
- 2001Riverrun / Water-Ways / Rain Coming / Rain Spell / Tree Line
- 2001Takemitsu: Nami no Bon / Ran / Hosokawa: Memory of the Sea / Otaka: Fantasy for Organ & Orchestra
- 2001Tree Line - Rain Coming - Waves - Rain Tree - Garden Rain - Toward The Sea II - Rain Spell - Waterways
- 2002A String Around Autumn
- 2002Complete Piano Works
- 2002In an Autumn Garden
- 2002Piano Works
- 2002Ran (soundtrack)
- 2003Piano Works
- 2003Toward the Sea / Rain Tree / Rain Spell / Bryce
- 2004Generation of Chaos Original Soundtrack The Best (soundtrack)
- 2006A Flock Descends Into the Pentagonal Garden / Spirit Garden / Dreamtime
- 2006Aki Takahashi Plays Takemitsu
- 2006Arc Green
- 2006Chaconne & Autumn Leaves
- 2006Corona / For Away / Piano Distance / Undisturbed Rest
- 2006Field Of Miniatur III
- 2006Spirit Garden: Orchestral Works
- 2007Mano a mano
- 2007Piano Music
- 2007Songs
- 2008Air
- 2008Tan Dun: Pipa Concerto / Hayashi: Viola Concerto / Takemitsu: Nostalghia
- 2011Five Pieces
- 2011Shostakovich: Symphony no. 5 / Takemitsu: From me flows what you call Time
- 2012Music for Orchestra
- 2012Musica ricercata: Música para piano de Ligeti, Messiaen, Takemitsu y Cage
- 2013La Vallée des cloches
- 2013Nocturnal
- 2014Japanese Guitar Music, Vol. 1: Toru Takemitsu: Complete Original Solo Guitar Works / Leo Brouwer: 2 Homages to Toru Takemitsu
- 2014Tre voci
- 2015Takemitsu: Cassiopeia / Ishii: Sōgū II
- 2016Franck & R. Strauss: Violin Sonatas / Takemitsu: Hika
- 2016Japanese Guitar Music, Vol. 2
- 2016Japanese Guitar Music, Vol. 3
- 2017Brahms / Takemitsu / Beethoven
- 2017Landscapes
- 2018Complete Music for Solo Guitar
- 2018Complete Works For Piano
- 2018Écoutez!
- 2018Japanese Guitar Music, Vol. 4
- 2018Mysteries
- 2019Japan
- 2019Tchaikovsky, Takemitsu
- 2019Works for Solo Piano
- 2020Complete Works & Transcriptions for Solo Guitar
- 2020Musique?
- 20211982 Historic Recordings
- 2021As from far away
- 2022Identity
- 2022波の盆
- 2023Spectral Canticle
- 2023Toru Takemitsu
- 2024Gardens
- 2024Les yeux clos: Music for Piano Solo
- 2026Takemitsu: Distant Echoes
Other work
- 1962Seppuku
- 1964Suna no onna
- 1964Kaidan
- 1989Black Rain
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Film Music MapNL Map
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 6NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Japanese New Wave and arthouse Genre
Tōru Takemitsu, a largely self-taught composer, wrote the music for many of them.