# Famous Asian composers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574 "2009-07-10T16:06:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/1 "2009-07-10T16:06:52Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/2 "2009-07-10T17:54:58Z")
Probably not in the same category as the two you mentioned, but what about [Isao Tomita](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isao_Tomita)? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/3 "2009-07-10T18:14:25Z")
[Toru Takemitsu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toru_Takemitsu) is the first who comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/4 "2009-07-10T18:19:25Z")
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a well-known composer of film scores: > **[Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryuichi_Sakamoto)** > > Ryuichi Sakamoto (Japanese: 坂本 龍一\[b\], Hepburn: Sakamoto Ryūichi, January 17, 1952 – March 28, 2023) was a Japanese composer, pianist, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres. > Sakamoto began his career while at university in the 1970s as a session musician, producer, and arranger... ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/5 "2009-07-10T18:52:32Z")
Likewise Tan Dun: > **[Tan Dun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Dun)** > > Tan Dun (Chinese: 谭盾; pinyin: Tán Dùn, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .reference-text .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Mandarin pronunciation: \[tʰǎn tu̯ə̂n\]; born 18 August 1957) is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped mu Born i... ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/6 "2009-07-10T19:50:01Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/7 "2009-07-10T19:52:09Z")
[Bright Shen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bright_Sheng) 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. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/8 "2009-07-10T20:06:14Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > 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. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/9 "2009-07-10T20:06:58Z")
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](http://www.presser.com/Composers/info.cfm?Name=chenYi), [Chinary Ung](http://musicweb.ucsd.edu/people/people.php?cmd=fm_music_directory_detail&query_Full_Name=+Chinary+Ung), and [Isang Yun](http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/yun) as composers worthy of attention. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-asian-composers/502574/10 "2009-07-11T10:14:13Z")
Well there’s Yamashiro Shoji. He did the soundtrack for the movie, Akira, but otherwise I’m not sure of his fame. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vggan7xBRoE) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgxA_6l02zE) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDwckN3-bu8)