Tōru Takemitsu

Tōru Takemitsu (October 8, 1930 - February 20, 1996) was a Japanese composer, best known for his works "Requiem for strings" (1958) and "November Steps" (1967). His music drew from various influences including European classical composers like Olivier Messiaen and Claude Debussy, jazz, popular music, avant-garde and traditional Japanese music.

Zappa about Takemitsu

"I'm still quite fond of Boulez's music, but not so much so of Stockhausen's stuff. I like other things in contemporary music, too, particularly Takemitsu. He's one of my favorites."

— Frank Zappa, Modern Music Is a Sick Puppy by Steve Birchall, Digital Audio, 1984.

"I think 'November Steps' (by (Tōru Takemitsu) kicks the shit out of 'Turangalila'"."

— Zappa in Interview with the Composer, February 1980.).

See also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toru_Takemitsu%7C Wikipedia article about Tōru Takemitsu]