Music Salon: Ryuichi Sakamoto's Sonic Universe and the Era That Shaped Him

We never know when death arrives,  

so we imagine life as an eternal fountain.  

Yet all things exist only a finite number of times—  

and a small number at that, truly.  

How many times will you recall a certain afternoon from childhood, 

one so deeply etched into your being that 

your very existence seems unthinkable without it?  

Four or five times, perhaps. Or even fewer.  

How many full moons will you witness rising?  

Maybe twenty.  

Yet each feels boundless.  

 Paul Bowles 《The Sheltering Sky》

In his 2017 album Async, Ryuichi Sakamoto crafted a singular piece titled Full Moon. For this work, he translated a passage by Paul Bowles—author of The Sheltering Sky—into German, Italian, Persian, and other languages, inviting artists fluent in each tongue to recite the text, including the film’s director Bernardo Bertolucci. These multilingual voices, layered with Sakamoto’s haunting soundscape, transform Bowles’ words into a universal meditation: a cross-cultural lament on life’s fragility and the illusions of permanence. This piece stands as a sonic reckoning—Sakamoto, then approaching his seventies, reflecting on his own mortality and artistic journey.  

On May 26th, marking the first anniversary of his passing, Mountain View Theatre will present Timeless Now: A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto. This commemorative concert traces the evolution of his multifaceted oeuvre: from the rebellious electronic pulses of his early years, through the genre-defying experiments of his mid-career, to the Zen-inspired minimalism of his final works. By situating Sakamoto’s music within the historical currents that shaped him—postwar Japan’s avant-garde awakening, global techno-utopianism, and his lifelong dialogue with environmental crises—the performance illuminates his enduring legacy as a compass guiding the coordinates of 20th and 21st-century sound.  

As a prelude to the concert, this music salon is co-curated by EMERGE and Shekou Performing Arts Connection.  

The event features keynote speaker Mr. Zhou Yuzhi, who will explore four dimensions of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s musical legacy through a curated vinyl listening session:  Pioneers who shaped him、Trailblazer of electronic soundscapes、Visionary film score composer、Humanistic activism & social resonance .  

The four virtuosos of the upcoming concert—pianist Shi Chengyan, violinist Wang Chao, cellist Tan Jialiang, and multimedia artist Xia Yitong—will also join the salon for an interactive dialogue with the audience.