Review | Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Opus album a fitting farewell to beloved Japanese composer – review

Posthumous album is a journey through the film composer’s career, including music from The Last Emperor and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

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Ryuichi Sakamoto at the 74th Venice Film Festival in Italy on September 3, 2017. The Japanese film composer’s posthumous album Opus includes music from film scores including The Last Emperor and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. Photo: AP

Published: 4:15pm, 9 Aug 2024

Recorded and filmed as Ryuichi Sakamoto was dying of cancer, Opus – the Japanese film composer’s posthumous album and documentary of the same name – is clearly meant to be his final farewell.

As an album, it is fitting that the 20-song, hour-and-a-half recording of sparse piano played by Sakamoto is a retrospective, taking the listener on a journey through his half-century career.

One stand-out is the first-ever recorded version of the playfully lyrical “Tong Poo” from his early days with techno-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, also known as YMO. The trio were pioneers of 1970s electronic music and a Japanese act that landed on the global stage.

Opus is being released on August 9 by Milan Records. It features solo piano versions of the film scores that form the pillars of Sakamoto’s legacy, starting with the majestic theme for Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, a film set in the final days of imperial China leading into its communist rule.

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Tong Poo | Ryuichi Sakamoto Opus

The film won an Academy Award for best original score, making Sakamoto the first Asian to win the honour. The 1987 film, starring John Lone, also won best picture. The score also won a Grammy.