Tōru Takemitsu: Between Sound and Silence
Saturday 28th February 2026 7:00 PM at Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, South Bank, London, SE1 8XX.
Programme
Claude Debussy – Prelude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Toru Takemitsu – Air for solo flute
Toru Takemitsu – And then I knew ‘twas wind
Olivier Messiaen – Le merle noir
Toru Takemitsu – Rain Spell
Anton Webern – 3 Little Pieces
Toru Takemitsu – Rain Coming
Performers
London Sinfonietta
Programme Note
What happens when music breathes, when sound drifts like mist, or lingers like falling rain? For Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu, silence was as meaningful as any note. One of the most important voices of the postwar era, Takemitsu drew deep inspiration from nature, composing music that feels both intimate and expansive, rooted in stillness and mystery.
In Between Sound and Silence, the London Sinfonietta brings Takemitsu’s world to life. You’ll hear his beautiful, meditative works such as – Rain Coming, and And Then I Knew ’Twas Wind – alongside music by composers who inspired him, including Debussy, Messiaen, and Webern. Their influence helped shape Takemitsu’s unique sound: rich in colour, alive with detail, yet always deeply human.
Takemitsu was also a gifted writer and thinker. The performance will include excerpts from his essays, as well as rare video clips of the composer speaking about his work, offering a glimpse into the mind behind the music. A close friend of the London Sinfonietta, Takemitsu wrote some of his finest pieces for the ensemble.
Step into the stillness and join us for an evening of quiet beauty and reflection.