I’ve been spedning some time lately with music students. A lot of them are Asian. Which prompted me to wonder who are some famous Asian classical music composers.
I enjoy classical music, though I’m not an afficiondo in the sense of being able to disect every note and movement in a piece. Still, I’m curious about whether or not there are any Asian composers who command as much respect in the classical music world as say Bartok or Shostakovich, to name a few 20th Century giants.
Probably not in the same category as the two you mentioned, but what about Isao Tomita?
Toru Takemitsu is the first who comes to mind.
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a well-known composer of film scores:
Likewise Tan Dun:
Do you mean Asian in the sense of "east Asian, south of Russia, or "in the sense of “from anywhere in Asia?” Also, do you mean composers who are highly regarded in the western tradition, or in their own traditions? I’m not trying to be irritating, but it might help broaden or narrow the list, whichever you prefer.
I personally only know some of the Indian classical composers. Of those, I think Allaudin Khan (Ravi Shankar’s teacher) has to be at or near the top of the list. Of currently active composers, I know that N. Ravikiran is very highly regarded.
Bright Shen comes to mind. I really do like his music.
Don’t know if he’s an answer, though, since although he’s Chinese-born, most of his music has been written after his arrival in the United States.
Mainly those of East Asian extraction who are well regarded in the Western tradition, since a lot of the students seem to be of East Asian descent themselves studying, of course, western music.
Probably none really are regarded on quite the same level as Bartok or Shostakovich, but certainly Takemitsu is up there.
Others have already mentioned Bright Sheng and Tan Dun, to which I will add Chen Yi, Chinary Ung, and Isang Yun as composers worthy of attention.
Well there’s Yamashiro Shoji. He did the soundtrack for the movie, Akira, but otherwise I’m not sure of his fame.