TAKEMITSU: Piano Music (Kotaro Fukuma/ Norbert Kraft & Bonnie Silver) (Naxos: 8.570261)

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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 'Far Away' (1973) inspired by Indonesian gamelan music.