About
Produced by Alan Hall
Duration 43'37"
Broadcast in the Sunday Feature slot on 22nd April 2007 on BBC Radio 3.
... a garden never spurns those who enter it ...
For the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, gardens provided both a source of inspiration and a metaphor for his music ... "I
can imagine a garden superimposed over the image of an orchestra. A
garden is composed of various different elements and sophisticated
details that converge to form a harmonious whole. Each element does not
exert its individuality, but achieves a state of anonymity - and that is
the kind of music that I would like to create."
This
portrait of the great Japanese composer combines the words of friends,
family and admirers - including his daughter Maki, the conductors Oliver
Knussen and Marin Alsop, the composers Dai Fujikura and Joji Yuasa, the
pop musician David Sylvian, the film director Masahiro Shinoda and the
Tokyo gardener Ryutaro Takahara - with sounds from Takemitsu's favourite
Kyoto gardens and examples from his concert music, film scores and a
specially recorded performance of his arrangement of Yesterday by the
guitarist Daisuke Suzuki.
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