If you got tongue from David Bowie, it might change your life. It certainly brought one Japanese pop star-actor-composer-musician into the limelight. In "Merry Christmas, Mister Lawrence," the slow-motion screen kiss between Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto was a turning point in his career. Of course, it

20th-century music, Abstract electronica, Ambient, Eclectic, Layered, Lyrical, Psychedelic

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer, considered by many to be the most influential composer of 20th century music. He was a quintessentially cosmopolitan Russian who was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the century. In addition to the recognition

20th-century music, Perverse, Power, Rhythmic, Serial, The early russians

20th-century Italian composer Luciano Berio embraced many forms of music, from twelve-tone modernism, to Romanticism, to folk musics. His works range from pieces for solo instruments (called Sequenzas), to electroacoustic works, to works for orchestra. Berio was particularly fascinated with the capab

Abstract, Classical, Complex, Experimental, Layered, Pioneering, Playful

Michael Tippett was never satisfied with one kind of musical form. Operas, symphonies, concertos, sonatas, choral works, string quartets -- he dabbled in them all. Even within a single work, he was fond of combining numerous influences, from Beethoven to English folk music to reggae to rap. Tippett's

20th-century music, Composed, Eclectic, Intense, Layered, Sensual