Country : Japan / United States Label : Milan Records Genres and styles : Minimalist / Neoclassical / Piano Year : 2024

Opus – Ryuichi Sakamoto (Top Albums 2024)

· by Varun Swarup

Recorded in September 2022, just six months before his passing, Opus feels less like a farewell and more like a quiet conversation between Ryuichi Sakamoto and his listener. Stripped down to just Sakamoto, a piano, and the weight of his presence, it’s a final gift to his devoted fans—intimate, unadorned, and unmistakably him.

Accompanied by a black-and-white film, the album opens with a tender rendition of “Lack of Love.” Its Chopin-like melodies immediately set the somber, reflective tone that is to run the course of this disc. Even on a song like “Tong Poo,” first recorded with Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978, Sakamoto slows things down, trading its original, restless energy for something more elegiac—less about movement and more about memory. Two new pieces, “BB” and “for Jóhann,” honor lost collaborators Bernardo Bertolucci and Jóhann Jóhannsson. Both feel like prayers, their sparse chords heavy with grief, love, and finality.

You can hear the fragility in the recording itself. On “Andata,” Sakamoto’s soft breaths blend with the notes, and the creaks of the piano bench and pedals remind you there’s a body behind the music—frail, but still reaching for something beautiful. Even in his final months, Sakamoto’s playing feels deliberate and full of emotion, proof that his creativity never dimmed.

Opus doesn’t feel like a grand goodbye. It’s more personal than that. It’s a celebration of a life spent making art—an album that finds beauty in vulnerability and meaning in every note. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. Its power is in how fearless and honest it feels, right to the very end.

Latest 360 Content

Orford 2025 | Stick&Bow, hommage aux transgresseurs

Orford 2025 | Stick&Bow, hommage aux transgresseurs

Curtis Nowosad – I Am Doing My Best

Curtis Nowosad – I Am Doing My Best

George Crotty Trio – Heart Music

George Crotty Trio – Heart Music

Quatuor Bozzini – Owen Underhill : Songs and Quartets

Quatuor Bozzini – Owen Underhill : Songs and Quartets

Tina Leon – Push & Pull

Tina Leon – Push & Pull

Sean Clarke – A Flower for my Daughter

Sean Clarke – A Flower for my Daughter

English National Opera Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins – Havergal Brian : Agamemnon; Sinfonia tragica; Symphony no 12

English National Opera Orchestra/Martyn Brabbins – Havergal Brian : Agamemnon; Sinfonia tragica; Symphony no 12

The Curious Bards – Sublimation : Songs and dances from 18th-century Scandinavia

The Curious Bards – Sublimation : Songs and dances from 18th-century Scandinavia

Ensemble Masques/Olivier Fortin – Bach, Telemann & Albinoni: Concerti

Ensemble Masques/Olivier Fortin – Bach, Telemann & Albinoni: Concerti

François Leleux/Lisa Batiashvili/Frankfurt Radio Symphony – Future Horizons

François Leleux/Lisa Batiashvili/Frankfurt Radio Symphony – Future Horizons

Nate Mercereau · Josh Johnson · Carlos Niño – Openness Trio

Nate Mercereau · Josh Johnson · Carlos Niño – Openness Trio

Theon Cross – Affirmations: Live At Blue Note New York

Theon Cross – Affirmations: Live At Blue Note New York

Fabia Mantwill Orchestra – In.Sight

Fabia Mantwill Orchestra – In.Sight

Hior Chronik – Apofanie

Hior Chronik – Apofanie

Kent Nagano/Rebekka Hartmann – Hartmann/Ravel/Sadikova

Kent Nagano/Rebekka Hartmann – Hartmann/Ravel/Sadikova

Frédéric Lambert; Chloé Dumoulin – Nouveau lyrisme

Frédéric Lambert; Chloé Dumoulin – Nouveau lyrisme

Sara Curruchich in concert : great songstress of mayan roots and feminist intensity

Sara Curruchich in concert : great songstress of mayan roots and feminist intensity

Steve Reich – Traveler’s Prayer

Steve Reich – Traveler’s Prayer

London Philharmonic Orchestra – Tania Leon : Horizons; Raices (Origins); Stride; Paisajes

London Philharmonic Orchestra – Tania Leon : Horizons; Raices (Origins); Stride; Paisajes

Andrew Staniland – The Laws of Nature

Andrew Staniland – The Laws of Nature

Cyrille Dubois, etc. – Geroges Bizet: Les Mélodies

Cyrille Dubois, etc. – Geroges Bizet: Les Mélodies

Presence autochtone 2025 | Whales Without Borders

Presence autochtone 2025 | Whales Without Borders

Présence autochtone | Maori, Aboriginal, and Inuit incantations for whales

Présence autochtone | Maori, Aboriginal, and Inuit incantations for whales

Subscribe to our newsletter