On the occasion of the International Festival of the Arts taking place in New York in 1988, Carl Stone met up with the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, co-founder of the interdisciplinary group of artists Jikken Kobo (Experimental Workshop) (1951). Discussing the involvement of Takemitsu in the festival, we learn that he programmed 4 concerts given by the Sound-Space Ark. He further explains that he saw this opportunity as a way to introduce contemporary Japanese music and musicians to a Western crowd. Pursuing the conversation, Takemitsu details the many similarities and differences he perceives between Japanese and Western contemporary music – the influences bridging distinct worlds but also their diverse cultural interpretations. As they move forward, the two talk about the particular relationship Takemitsu has with nature and how his composition process is directly rooted in the aesthetics of Japanese garden. After they discuss the importance of technology in the evolution of music and Takemitsu’s early work experimenting with tape, they talk about then current and upcoming work of the composer such as Dreamtime.

PIECES AND RECORDINGS FROM:

Toru Takemitsu, In an Autumn Garden (1973), JVC

Toru Takemitsu, Kwaidan film score (1964), directed by Masaki Kobayashi, Ninjin Club