An Ode to Toru Takemitsu - Talk by Oliver Knussen and Maki Takemitsu

Toru Takemitsu is among the most important composers in the history of Japanese music. Almost entirely self-taught, Takemitsu went on to compose several hundred independent works and score over ninety films. The first composer to be fully recognised in the West, Takemitsu achieved international renown for his distinctive style. Combining elements of the Occident and the Orient, Takemitsu created music that was sensuous yet accessible.

 

In honour of this talented composer The Japan Foundation are proud to present a special talk as a prelude to NHK Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Takemitsu’s Requiem for Strings in March. Oliver Knussen CBE, a close friend of Takemitsu who has presided over many of Takemitsu’s works himself and Maki Takemitsu, Takemitsu’s daughter and music producer, will examine the significance of Takemitsu’s work and share their unique experiences reflecting on his life and legacy. They will be joined in conversation by Gillian Moore, Director of Music at Southbank Centre.

 

This event will focus not only on the music of Toru Takemitsu but also on the life that influenced such vast and intricate musicscapes

 

 

Booking:

Tickets for this event are priced at £3 (with free entry for students and minors). To purchase tickets please visit: kingsplace.co.uk/Takemitsu

 

If you are a student, free places for this event can be booked by contacting event@jpf.org.uk

 

This event is coproduced by the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo

 

NHK Symphony Orchestra perform Takemitsu’s Requiem for Strings alongside Mahler’s Symphony No.6, ‘Tragic’ at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on Monday 6 March 2017, 7:30pm, as part of the International Orchestra Series. For further details, please click here.