Confronting Silence: Selected Writings

by Toru Takemitsu, Yoshiko Kakudo, Glenn Glasow

In these writings, available here in English for the first time, the distinguished Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu reflects on his contemporaries, including John Cage, Olivier Messiaen, and Merce Cunningham; on nature, which has profoundly influenced his composition; on film and painting; on relationships between East and West; on traditional Japanese music; and on his own compositions.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Essays, Japan, Philosophy, Film, Japanese Literature

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Samuel Cho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takemitsu writes about, although only sparingly, film, paintings and nature. Every sentence has profound meaning to anyone who has invested love in arts. The words are peaceful and understated, truly reflecting the sentiment that listening, or perceiving in general, is an active process.

When I closed the book I felt like I've met the man. My respect for music grew and I felt that I became more sensitive as a musician. I believe that all those lost in the bustle and clutter of everyday life should read these essays. It is short and it will make living and listening more meaningful.

[Marxist Monkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book almost achieves the ma that underlies Takemitsu's best music. Ma is that no-sound that precedes and subsumes all music. Sawari, the physicality of sound, the sound of the sounding body, is the other key concept that Takemitsu explains here. Both these concepts are central to understanding all music--whether that of messiaen, cage, Takemitsu or Sonic Youth. Takemitsu is not quiet. Don't make that mistake. But he is profound.

My roof is leaking.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautiful little book; organized in sections. it starts with some general ideas about music and nature - culled from essays on the subject, and continues with portraits of artists that takemitsu met or worked with (john cage, jasper johns, and more). it was one of those books that i hit at just the right time; i've been reflecting a lot on various ideas and trying to articulate them, so it was great to read words by a composer i respect who was wrestling with some of the same things. also the book invited me to go back and listen to some of the works i'm most familiar with, and also check into some things i didn't know at all. just a wonderful experience by and large.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

CONFRONTING SILENCE is a slim (143-page plus index) collection of writings by the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu published in 1995, a year before his untimely death. Translated and edited by Yoshiko Kakudo and Glenn Glasgow, the contents come from varied sources, some magazine or newspaper articles, others lectures to university crowds. The advertised foreward by Seiji Ozawa is a single paragraph saying basically "I am happy you can read my friend's work." A few of the writings here are useful towards appreciating Takemitsu's work and aesthetic, but I found that most were of limited value.

"Notes on November Steps" is a series of reminisces on the 1967 composition and premier of Takemitsu's great piece combining the Western orchestra with two Japanese instruments, the biwa and shakuhachi. The description of the challenges Takemitsu faced in combining these two traditions, and of the tension between the modern composer and conservative orchestra are highly interesting and make for greater appreciation of the piece. "Dream and Number" is an exegesis of his several of his pieces, most notably "A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden", telling of inspirations from dreams and the abundance of reference to the number five. It is lavishly illustrated with score samples. It is the only substantial musicological writing here. "Sound of East, Sound of West" consists of musings on the special traits of certain indigenous musical traditions of the world, and contains some worthwhile thoughts on Japanese music and their exportability.

Most of the pieces, however, are fluff. An obituary essay in memory of Feldman, Nono, and Messiaen is just a simple explanation of who they were and when they died, without any clear information on how they influenced Takemitsu's music. Some of the content is repeated, for how many times do we need the same description of the biwa? "Nature and Music", apparently extracts from Takemitsu's diary, are written in an exceedingly hermetic style that doesn't communicate well with the reader. All in all, I'd recommend this book only to committed fans of Takemitsu, and flipping through it in a university library may be the best course of action. If you are looking for a book-length treatment of Takemitsu and his work, Peter Burt's THE MUSIC OF TORU TAKEMITSU (Cambridge University Press, 2001) is the thing to get.

[Hayden Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just want to disclaimer that Toru Takemitsu is one of my favorite composers and my excitement to find a collection of his writings may have influenced my review. This book gave me some new perspectives about the role of music in my life and has kind of pushed me away from the idea of art as a purely self expressive pursuit. In between musings on music and art some whimsical stories and ideas emerge. All in all, a brief but interesting read.

[Faranak · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتابی ست نه صرفا برای موسیقی، وجود و مهم بودن سکوت رو برات توضیح می‌ده و بازمیکنه.
بارها به مقایسه موسیقی ژاپن و غرب میپردازه.
بعضی وقت ها احساس میکنم که گفته ها قدیمی و از زمان عقب افتاده شدند. چون کتاب هم جدید نیست، منطقیه.
کتاب داستانی نیست و هر از گاهی فصلی ازش رو میخونم

[Audreyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

i wanna give this 10 stars

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a musician these are illuminating essays. Takemitsu writes on his struggle to reconcile Western composition and Eastern aesthetics and philosophy. He documents his personal search for a sonic realization of 'ma' and a non-counted sensory perception of space and time with his knowledge of Western music vocabulary. It adds up to a great personal/artistic search story.