Takashi Yoshimatsu Takashi Yoshimatsu

 Takashi Yoshimatsu (吉松 隆 Yoshimatsu Takashi) (born March 18, 1953) is a contemporary Japanese composer of classical music. He is well known for composing the 2003 remake of Astro Boy.

Biography

Takashi Yoshimatsu was born in Tokyo, Japan, and like Toru Takemitsu, the composer generally considered to be Japan's greatest in the western classical style, did not receive formal musical training while growing up. He dropped out of Keio University in March 1974, and joined an amateur band named NOA as a keyboard player, emulating the music of Pink Floyd. He became interested in the jazz and progressive rock scenes, particularly in the possibilities being explored through electronic music.

He was a fan of the Walker Brothers and the Ventures when he was 13, but symphonies of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky fascinated him when he was 14. Since then he composed a number of pieces before making his name with the serialist 'Threnody for Toki' in 1981. Soon afterwards, he became disenchanted with atonal music, and began to compose in a free neo-romantic style with strong influences from jazz, rock and Japanese classical music, underscoring his reputation with his 1985 guitar concerto. As of 2007, Yoshimatsu has presented six symphonies, 12 concertos: one each for bassoon, cello, guitar, trombone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, marimba, chamber orchestra, traditional Japanese instruments, and two for piano (one for the left hand only and one for both hands), a number of sonatas, and various shorter pieces for ensembles of various sizes. His 'Atom Hearts Club Suites' for string orchestra explicitly pay homage to the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

The majority of his work is triadic and contains simple, repeated progressions, or in some cases pandiatonicism. Often extended tertian harmonies are followed by whole tone harmonies (such as in the first movement of Symphony No. 5; or the first movement of his "Cyber Bird" Concerto for alto saxophone, which, in addition, makes use of free atonal jazz; or the final movement of his "Orion Machine" Concerto; or in his Saxophone Concerto "Albireo Mode"). His works for Japanese traditional instruments (such as Subaru, and Within Dreams, Without Dreams) make use of traditional Japanese scales and tunings.

He has published some essays and primers about classical music. He likes to draw pictures and has illustrated his own books.

Notable compositions

• Saxophone Concerto "Cyber Bird" for Alto Saxophone, Piano, and Orchestra, Op. 59 (1994)
• Kamui-Chikap Symphony (Symphony No. 1), Op. 40 (1990)
• Symphony No. 2 "At Terra", Op. 43 (1991)
• Symphony No. 3, Op. 75 (1998)
• Symphony No. 4, Op. 82 (2000)
• Symphony No. 5, Op. 87 (2001)
• Symphony No. 6 "Birds and Angels", Op. 113 (2013)
• Guitar Concerto "Pegasus Effect", Op. 23 (1984)
• Bassoon Concerto "Unicorn Circuit", Op. 36 (1988)
• Tenor Trombone Concerto "Orion Machine", Op. 55 (1993)
• Alto Saxophone Concerto "Cyber Bird", Op. 59 (1994)
• Piano Concerto "Memo Flora", Op. 67 (1997)
• Fugaku "Seven Scenes of the Sacred Mount Fuji", Op. 88)
• Violoncello Concerto "Centaurus Unit", Op. 91 (2003)
• Soprano Saxophone Concerto "Albireo Mode", Op. 93 (2005)
• Piano Concerto "Cephus Note" (for the left hand), Op. 102 (2007)
• Marimba Concerto "Bird Rhythmics", Op. 109 (2010)
• Threnody to Toki, Op. 12 (1980)
• Atom Hearts Club Suite I for String Orchestra, Op. 70b (1997)
• Atom Hearts Club Suite IIa for String Orchestra, Op.79a (1999)
• Pleiades Dances I, Op. 27 (1986)
• Pleiades Dances II, Op. 28 (1987)
• Pleiades Dances III, Op. 35 (1988)
• Pleiades Dances IV, Op. 50 (1992)
• Pleiades Dances V, Op. 51 (1992)
• Pleiades Dances VI, Op. 71 (1998)
• Pleiades Dances VII, Op. 76 (1999)
• Pleiades Dances VIII, Op. 78a (1999)
• Pleiades Dances IX, Op. 85 (2001)
• Tapiola Visions (for the left hand), Op. 92 (2004)
• Ainola Lyrical Ballads (for the left hand), Op. 95 (2006)
•   (for the left hand), Op. 96 (2006)Gauche Dances