Isao Tomita

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11 Sep 2010, 8:20 pm

Who is a big fan of Isao Tomita, a very well known electronic composer?

I like "Ballad of the Chicks in their Shells" (originally a Mussorgsky piece), and "Arabesque No. 1" (originally a Debussy piece, and the theme to Star Gazer/Hustler).

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auntblabby
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12 Sep 2010, 8:03 am

:!: :idea:
YES! Finally! somebody else who recognizes this great artist's work! i thought i was one of the only ones who liked him. i have all his albums, including japanese imports. did you know his music was used by the late jack horkheimer in his "star hustler" astronomy program on pbs? i see him as the japanese equivalent of wendy carlos, in terms of inventiveness. but whereas carlos prefers the rigorous invention of bach, tomita prefers the dreamy impressionism of debussy and ravel. his reverie of "pavane pour une infante defunte" makes tears fall down my cheeks, it is so beautiful and sad. i much prefer tomita.

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12 Sep 2010, 11:20 pm

We listened to Ballad of the Chicks in their Shells in elementary school music class, and I could never get it out of my head because it was so funny.

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auntblabby
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13 Sep 2010, 5:01 am

Tim_Tex wrote:

We listened to Ballad of the Chicks in their Shells in elementary school music class, and I could never get it out of my head because it was so funny.

yes, that is from his "pictures at an exhibition" lp/cd. that was the first recording of his that i bought decades ago. my brother has the original lp in 4-channel sound [quardraphonic], that was a blast to listen to especially with the "ballad of the chicks in their shells" because the sound ran around the listening room.

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13 Sep 2010, 5:11 am

I heard his version of Holst's planets. It was different.

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auntblabby
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13 Sep 2010, 5:15 am

Moog wrote:

I heard his version of Holst's planets. It was different.

try listening to it in surround sound sometime. it will blow your mind. it is available on DVD as a digitally animated solar system travelogue, in 5.1 surround sound.

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13 Sep 2010, 5:55 am

his name is an anagram of 'i is a tomato'!

auntblabby
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13 Sep 2010, 6:06 am

saintetienne wrote:

his name is an anagram of 'i is a tomato'!

whatever he is, he is good for you.

auntblabby
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17 Sep 2010, 3:28 am

probably the most intriguing album he did was 1985's "canon of the 3 stars" which used radio telescope waveform data from various stars/star systems to modulate his synthesizers. it was very cosmic.

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21 Sep 2010, 3:00 am

his disco version of the star wars main title theme put a smile on my face.

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21 Sep 2010, 10:18 am

i have every one of his albums.
as a connoisseur of electronica, i think only Mort Garson & Dick Hyman have anything to compare.
i love the ubergeek sound, like Silver Apples of the Moon (Subotnick), but the aforementioned possess an innate lyricism that is irresistable.
unfortunately almost no one has been exposed to this music because of the tyranny of genres.
i have found all my Tomita records in the New Age bins at used record stores, & now even those stores have vanished.

m.

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21 Sep 2010, 11:07 pm

graywyvern wrote:

what do you think of his interpretations of ravel and debussy? it was just those that made me fall in love with his music.
yes, it is a shame that almost all the used record stores seem to have gone belly-up. 99% of all recorded music is on the phonographic disc format, and this is being lost wholesale, as legions of these stores go kaput and toss all their product into the landfills.

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22 Sep 2010, 1:59 pm

auntblabby wrote:

what do you think of his interpretations of ravel and debussy?

except for Bolero, they're some of his finest inspirations-particularly Clair de Lune. Bolero is not bad, just rather more "faithful" than creative.

m.

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