Soundscapes II

Featuring

Rainer Stegmann
Leo Brouwer
Tōru Takemitsu
Reginald Smith Brindle

Did you know?

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Recording & Production

This recording was made at Mendelssohn Saal, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Germany, and features a guitar manufactured by Matthias Dammann in 1992.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Toru Takemitsu, a Japanese composer, compared his music to a Japanese garden, where listening is like walking through and experiencing changes in light, pattern, and texture.

Composition History

Toru Takemitsu's three-movement work "In the woods" for solo guitar was composed in November 1995, about three months before his death, as a memorial to his time in North American forests.

Performer Biography

Rainer Stegmann, the guitarist on this album, initially focused on classical, rock, and jazz, but later dedicated himself entirely to classical guitar, studying in Frankfurt am Main.

Album & Artwork

This album, "Soundscapes II," continues the theme of its predecessor, "Soundscapes," by featuring works that can be described as tonal pictures or soundscapes.

Composer Biography

Toru Takemitsu, a Japanese composer, was drafted into the military at age 14 during World War II, an experience he described as "extremely bitter."

Composer Biography

Despite having no formal training, Toru Takemitsu began composing seriously at 16 and remained largely self-taught, similar to his friend Leo Brouwer, a Cuban composer also featured on this album.