Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996)

This Japanese composer was largely self-taught. His music comprises a large body of concert pieces and a great many scores for Japanese films. Influences include Webern, Stravinsky, Gershwin and jazz, as well as traditional Japanese and Asian music.
Takemitsu's music is kaleidoscopic, dreamy, sensuous but also fibrous, tantalising, delicate and fascinating.

Rain Tree Sketch II

The Rain Tree Sketch II was composed in 1992 in memory of Oliver Messiaen. The name was probably inspired by a quotation from a novel by Kenzaburo Oe (Atama no ii, Ame no Ki): "It was named the 'rain tree', for its abundant foliage continued to let fall rain drops from the previous night's shower until the following midday. Its hundreds of thousands of tiny, finger like leaves store up moisture, whereas other trees dry out at once."
The work is a dreamy, moody meditation on the flow of life, built on half a dozen well chosen notes.

Further information on Toru Takemitsu is available from Schott Musik International. Acknowledgments: Microsoft® Encarta® 96 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation.