TORU TAKEMITSU

Toru Takemitsu was born in Tokyo in 1930. He gained international fame with his first orchestral piece, Requiem for String Orchestra (1957) thanks to the acclamation of Igor Stravinsky who happened to be visiting Japan in 1959. During the 1960s, Takemitsu received notable performances by the London Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa and Aaron Copland. His first piece in which he incorporated traditional Japanese instruments was November Steps (1967), scored for shakuhachi, biwa and orchestra. He published about twenty books and wrote music for some 90 films. Takemitsu died in Tokyo in 1996, before managing to complete his first opera.