[Blaize]

First of all, it’s completely understandable if everyone is more familiar with his Godzilla scores than anything else. Most of the films Ifukube scored never made it out of Japan to begin with. Thankfully, Japanese labels have released quite a lot of music from those obscure films and I myself own a number of them.

For those who wish to take a deeper dive into his film music, I always recommend purchasing Akira Ifukube Melodious Compile (VPCD-81225), released by VAP in 1997. Primarily consisting of tracks from their previous Ifukube albums, it offers a nice variety from both his film music and stage music along with his work for Expo ’70. It’s overall a good introductory sampler.

In response to Tall Guy, “Ritmica Ostinata” is a favorite of mine! Yes, it’s an exceptionally demanding work. You also bring a point when it comes to Ifukube’s treatment for the piano. For both concert works and film scores, he would often use it more as a percussion instrument or feature it predominantly in some other fashion. He also used the piano to provide the sound effect for the bomb detonating in “Hiroshima”. Anyway, I always go crazy over his use of the piano! Honestly, composers need to learn from him in regards to using the instrument to it’s fullest. By the way, look into his “Symphony Concertante for Piano and Orchestra”. The whole work is great, but the third movement is something on a whole different level!

In response to Malte, it depends on his concert work. Much sound European in nature while others are distinctively Japanese. In other cases, a fusion of both. In reality, his exposure to the Ainu had one of the greatest impacts on his music.

Thor, he absolutely did! Many of the film scores I’ve listed easily fit the description. “The Ground” is a great example and two cues from that score have been released in the past. The score is monothematic though so there may not be a need to release the complete score if it’s still extant. Another great example is “Woman Running on the Shore” (Shochiku, 1964) is another that comes to mind. Seven of the thirteen or so cues are on one of VAP’s Ifukube compilations and it’s simply breathtaking. By the way, the male lead in the film ends up playing the main theme on a piano in one scene. Hopefully this will get a complete release on of these days.