05

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Beautiful soothing music, 2005-12-22
What the description above fails to mention is that these re-recordings are performed by Ryuichi Sakamoto playing solo on piano. For those unfamiliar with Sakamoto's style, he is a very emotive player who bases his work in classic romanticism. It's gorgeous and, most of the time, melodic. br / br /As with the 04 album from last year, there is one piece on 05 that is in a more modern, experimental style. It is one of the shorter pieces on the album. Two of the compositions on the album are brand new. br / br /His new recording of the Theme From The Last Emperor is quite interesting. Sakamoto has recorded this song several times over the years in a number of settings (full orchestra, with a string quartet and piano, solo piano, et al). This recording shows him stretching the composition more than usual. His arrangement holds the original themes, but it takes them into different directions. The original (recorded with orchestra) had a big sound. Re-arranging this song for solo piano must have been a challenge and it is one that Sakamoto succeeds at brilliantly.