Ryuichi Sakamoto, fighting cancer, livestreams what may be final concert
Japan's Ryuichi Sakamoto, known for his electronic music, including the score for 'The Last Emperor', on Monday finished streaming a concert that may be the last for the Academy award winning composer, who is fighting stage 4 cancer.
Sakamoto, 70, said in an online message in December that the unorthodox performance came about because he could no longer complete a regular concert.
"My strength has really fallen, so a normal concert of about an hour to ninety minutes would be very difficult," he said. "As a result, I've recorded it song by song and edited it together so it can be presented as a regular concert – which I believe can be pleasurable in the normal way. Enjoy."
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The concert, which featured a Sakamoto solo on piano for 13 of the songs.
In 2014 he was diagnosed with throat cancer, which was cured after years of treatment. But in January 2021 he said he had been diagnosed with rectal cancer the previous year.
"I have just turned 70, but how many more times will I be able to see the full moon?" he wrote. "But even thinking that, since I have been granted life, I am praying that I will be able to make music until my last moments, just like my beloved Bach and Debussy."
