Search - Toru Takemitsu, Tadaaki Otaka, BBC National Orchestra of Wales :: A String Around Autumn

Excellent selection of Takemitsu's orchestral music

Rinaldo | Durham, NC | 06/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While the four compositions on this disc together represent a nice cross-section of Takemitsu's music from the last 15 or so years of his life, the main attraction of this CD is the performance of "A String Around Autumn"--a particularly beautiful and evocative piece from a composer known for his attention to the beauty of sound itself. While Takemitsu's music, especially his orchestration, always reveals a deep French influence (think Debussy, Ravel and Messiaen), "A String Around Autumn" evokes Debussy in an especially striking way--yet without merely imitating the earlier composer. This piece is also an excellent introduction to Takemitsu's music.



As usual with BIS recordings, the sound quality is consistently superb. The clarity of these recordings serves Takemitsu's extremely delicate timbres very well. Because of this greater clarity, I prefer this performance of "I Hear the Water Dreaming" over the one included on a DG 20/21 disc of Takemitsu's flute music.



Overall, a highly recommended collection of Takemitsu's music--either as an introductory CD, or for fans of the composer."