Paul Crossley-GMN 114-66:28

Takemitsu and his music reflect the cultural crossover that characterizes our time. A poised blend of Eastern and Western traditions sustains his kaleidoscopic and versatile canon. If the quintessence of his art is based on silence, Takemitsu's compositions are also the Manichean result of an interaction with sound and resonance. Like Giacometti's portrait of Ysaku Yanaihara, it vanishes into the blank of the continuum to generate an oeuvre d'art that is grippingly sublime and meditative on its own.

Takemitsu's works for piano solo span a period from 1948 (he was only 18) to 1992, four years before he died. Except for the utterly tonal Piano Pieces for Children, the others exploit his original grammar whose roots are to be found in the Debussy-Messiaen musical atavism. The harmonic structures of the latter are salient in Litany, Uninterrupted Rest, and Rain Tree Sketch (II is clearly subtitled In Memoriam Olivier Messiaen). Obviously such a subtle alchemy requires the performer not merely to understand the timelessness of the music but to be penetrated by it. The object of Takemitsu's art is to converse with our soul rather than with our mind. Paul Crossley understands this; his playing never falls into the trap of monotony, thanks to a wealth of expression and imagination. He lavishes all his art of colors and sensuousness on this music and makes it bloom into a profound, ethereal meditation that attains a climax with 'Les Yeux Clos'. After Riverrun (Virgin 91180) and Quotation of Dream (1991), Paul Crossley appears with his new recording as the most eminent specialist in Takemitsu's piano music.

VILLEMIN

Published in American Record Guide, Vol. 64, N. 6

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