Toru Takemitu
Gémeaux / Spirit Garden
Denon (Japan) 1995
COJO-9176 (LP) w/obi, insert.
sleeve : NM
media : EX+/EX+(some slightly noise)
Released in 1995, this album is by Toru Takemitsu, the internationally renowned Japanese composer whose work transcended the boundaries of contemporary music and encompassed a remarkable range of experimental composition, film scores, and popular song. It contains a live recording of a 1994 concert at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre in Ikebukuro, performed by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Hiroshi Wakasugi. Extending from A1 through B1, Gemini is a work for two orchestras, oboe, and trombone, inspired by a poem by Shuzo Takiguchi, a central figure in Jikken Kobo, the experimental collective with which Takemitsu was involved during his early career. B2, Spirit Garden, was composed in 1994 and received its premiere at this performance. It is one of the final works Takemitsu completed during his lifetime. Its extraordinarily tranquil acoustic space is unmistakably his own. Simply magnificent. Issued during the CD era as part of Nippon Columbia’s Mastersonic Ulti-Fidelity Analog series, this edition offers exceptionally fine sound quality. With obi and insert.
A1: Gémeaux
B2: Spirit Garden