The late Toru Takemitsu’s small but substantial legacy of solo piano works builds upon the gestural sound worlds of Debussy and Messiaen yet resonates with absorbing originality. An uncluttered, tactile immediacy characterizes the sensuously converging chords and unfolding bell-like timbres in For Away, Piano Distance, Les Yeux Clos, Rain Tree Sketch, and the latter two compositions’ sequels. Takemitsu, in turn, manipulates these patterns as a subtle wind causes ripples in a calm stream. Paul Crossley’s full-bodied, sonorous tone, acute ear, and flexible technique lovingly serve the music in ways that complement and contrast to Peter Serkin’s RCA reference versions.
Compare, for example, the austere warmth Crossley generates in the first Les Yeux Clos to Serkin’s more angular, emphatically accented account. Picking one pianist over the other rehashes the old apples versus oranges argument, making any clear-cut choice impossible. Crossley’s cycle, however, includes world-premiere recordings of two children’s pieces from 1979 and an unpublished Romance dating from Takemitsu’s late teens that bears fingerprints of his mature style. Crossley also offers his own convincingly idiomatic piano version of the first movement of Takemitsu’s 1990 orchestral piece Visions, plus terrific booklet notes.
