Toru Takemitsu

Toru Takemitsu was a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music and a writer on music, largely self-taught, admired for his subtle handling of instrumental and orchestral timbre. He became the most internationally recognized Japanese composer of his generation, drawing together Western avant-garde technique with elements of traditional Japanese music, most notably in November Steps, which sets a biwa and shakuhachi soloist against full orchestra. He also composed music for more than one hundred films.