TAKEMITSU: Solo Piano Works. Kumi Ogano, piano....

TAKEMITSU: Solo Piano Works. Kumi Ogano, piano. Philips 432 730-2. The music recorded here spans Takemitsu’s entire career, from the 1950 “Litany” to the 1988 “Les yeux clos II”, and it runs a gamut of styles from early works influenced by Debussy and Messiaen to later forays into serialism, gamelan techniques and even minimalism. In spite of all this, a single, strong musical personality--i.e., Takemitsu’s--unifies the entire collection. This music seems almost to resist motion, an impression reinforced by titles like “Uninterrupted Rest,” “Piano Distance” and “Closed Eyes.” When the music is set in motion--like a calm pool of water disturbed by a pebble--Takemitsu invariably lets it settle back into repose. These are extremely measured, difficult sound sculptures in which lyrical impulses are denied and cathartic moments avoided. Ogano plays them with all the reticence the composer, present at the sessions, could possibly want.