I. Slowly, sadly and as if to con­verse with
II. Qui­etly and with a cruel rever­ber­a­tion
III. Song of love

Toru Takemitsu (1930–1996) was an inter­na­tion­ally acclaimed Japan­ese avant-garde and film com­poser. He was mostly self-taught and began com­pos­ing when he was 16. Debussy and Mes­si­aen were para­mount influ­ences, although he also exper­i­mented with elec­tronic music and inde­ter­mi­nacy. His big break occurred when Stravin­sky heard his Requiem (1957) and praised it as a mas­ter­piece. Takemitsu also took an inter­est in Cage’s music and the­o­ries. It was through Cage that Takemitsu devel­oped an appre­ci­a­tion for his own Japan­ese her­itage and began using tra­di­tional Japan­ese music in his own com­po­si­tions. Takemitsu’s style fluc­tu­ated con­stantly, but he remained a def­i­nite avant-gardist whose piano music shows kin­ship with the mys­ti­cism of Obukhov, Rud­h­yar, and Messiaen.