Toru Takemitsu

Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) is one of the most widely celebrated Japanese composers of the 20th century. He is known for works that drew inspiration from a wide range of influences -- including American jazz and pop, traditional Japanese music, and French art music -- and utilized a broad, special depth. Among the best known are 1957's "Requiem for Strings," 1977's "A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden," and 1990's treatise for percussion and orchestra, "From me flows what you call Time."