ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
A few months before his death, Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto sat down at the piano and performed a final, private concert.
(SOUNDBITE OF RYUICHI SAKAMOTO'S "TONG POO")
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
It was late 2022. Sakamoto played selections of his beloved film scores like "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence," along with new compositions he had never previously recorded.
SHAPIRO: He was too sick to play the whole set without taking breaks. By then, Sakamoto had battled cancer for years, and he later wrote that, quote, "due to the exertion, I felt utterly hollow afterwards." He died in March of last year. He was 71.
DETROW: Today, Sakamoto's estate announced a new album of songs from that concert, called "Opus," and will come out in August. Here's the first song that's been released, a slow, meditative version of his 1978 classic "Tong Poo."
(SOUNDBITE OF RYUICHI SAKAMOTO'S "TONG POO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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