[Toru Takemitsu's Piano Pieces] A Select Collection of Exquisite Masterworks Left by the World-Renowned Takemitsu

Born in 1930, Toru Takemitsu continued composing despite the turmoil of war and etched his name in history as one of Japan’s leading contemporary composers.

His avant-garde music, which seems to symbolize a world swirled with anxiety, is complex yet brimming with a mysterious allure that grips the heart.

In this article, we’ve selected from “Takemitsu of the world” a number of masterpieces for solo piano and works beloved in piano arrangements.

We will introduce them along with the background of their composition and the characteristics of each piece.

Playlist

[Toru Takemitsu's Piano Pieces] A Select Collection of Exquisite Masterworks Left by the World-Renowned Takemitsu
	Title	Playlist	Review
1	Piano DistanceTakemitsu Tōru		Toru Takemitsu’s East-West Fusion Music and the Beauty of Silence
2	Rain Tree Sketch II — In Memoriam Olivier MessiaenTakemitsu Tōru		Toru Takemitsu established a unique musical world that fused Japanese and Western music.
3	RomanceTakemitsu Tōru		Introduction to Toru Takemitsu’s piano piece “Romance”
4	Two MelodiesTakemitsu Tōru		Introducing Tōru Takemitsu’s early piano works
5	Closed Eyes 2Takemitsu Tōru		Explanation of Toru Takemitsu's representative piano piece
6	Just singTakemitsu Tōru		Introduction to Toru Takemitsu’s representative work “Just Singing”
7	Piano Miniature for Children No. 1 “Breeze”Takemitsu Tōru		A piece from Tōru Takemitsu’s collection of short piano pieces for children
8	Four AwayTakemitsu Tōru		Introduction to Tōru Takemitsu’s piano piece, For Away
9	Small skyTakemitsu Tōru		The Allure of Toru Takemitsu’s Masterpiece “Small Sky”
10	Two RentsTakemitsu Tōru		Toru Takemitsu’s early works, a fusion of East and West.
11	Closed Eyes — In Memory of Shuzo TakiguchiTakemitsu Tōru		Toru Takemitsu’s East–West fusion music and exquisite piano pieces
12	AsterismTakemitsu Tōru		Introducing Toru Takemitsu’s masterpiece “Asterism.”
13	Litany — In Memory of Michael VynerTakemitsu Tōru		Requiem Piano Piece “Litany” for Tōru Takemitsu
14	Quotation of a Dream —Say sea, take me!—Takemitsu Tōru		Toru Takemitsu’s fantastic work for two pianos and orchestra
15	Uninterrupted restTakemitsu Tōru		A piano piece that makes use of Toru Takemitsu’s silence and resonance