He is really, really good. His work was and is a huge part of the Final Fantasy series' success. Yes, he'll probably be remembered in the history books.

>>9744077
Yeah, his work is pretty good, but you'll be hard pressed to convince others that a guy who makes music for games is "one of the best composers of our time", no matter how true it may be.

So /r9k/, at the risk of being called a weeaboo, what are you opinions on Hideaki?
For those who don't know him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hideaki_Anno

Personally, I find much of work to be absolutely fantastic. He is, in my opinion, one of the best anime directors of our time, and definitely can compete with the best of all time.

Neon Genesis Evangelion just captures the Anons personality perfectly. You're Not Alone! is very much the same. Perfect pieces that fit so well into the story.

Yep, he's a great composer. His songs have been taken on tour multiple times, and one was played during the Olympics (or something).

The Japanese John Williams.

To elaborate, he is able to create music which fits the scenes perfectly and have memorable, and in some cases, "hummable" melodies which are surprisingly simple.

So /r9k/, at the risk of being called a weeaboo, what are you opinions on Aya Hirano?
For those who don't know her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aya_Hirano

Personally, I find much of work to be absolutely fantastic. She is, in my opinion, one of the best voice actors of our time, and definitely can compete with the best of all time.

Suzumiya Haruhi just captures her incredible voice skills perfectly. Hare Hare Yukai is very much the same. Perfect voice that fit so well into the anime stories.

>>9744158
I have never thought of him this way, but it actually fits really well.

So /r9k/, at the risk of being called a weeaboo, what are you opinions on Usopp?
For those who don't know him: http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Usopp

Personally, I find much of work to be absolutely fantastic. He is, in my opinion, one of the best pirates of our time, and definitely can compete with the best of all time.

Usopp Rubber Band just captures his fighting style so perfectly. Hot Sauce Killing Star is very much the same. Perfect moves that fit so well into the story.

>>9744159
Puffy puffy Ami Umi was better.

yoko kanno

So /r9k/, at the risk of being called a weeaboo, what are you opinions on Dave Motherfucking Grohl?
For those who don't know him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Grohl

Personally, I find much of work to be absolutely fantastic. He is, in my opinion, one of THE BEST composers of our time, and definitely can compete with THE BEST of all time.

THE BEST just captures the moment perfectly. THE BEST is very much the same. Perfect pieces that fit so well into the story.

>>9744275
Ussop is awesome.
The negative personality and yet the ingenious mind and his aiming skills.

Just awesome.

>>9744159
I didn't know her name, but yeah, she does a great job with haruhi

>and definitely can compete with the best of all time.

You best be trolling you goddamn nigger

I played some of his stuff for an elderly gentleman who is a fan of classical music. He gave it a "pretty okay, a little good. Not bad."

Twas nice to have his review. He said "easy to listen to, which is nice."

>>9744077
>>9744077

Nobuo was amazing in his time, however you shouldnt discount the efforts of his fellow composers.

there were times I gave him credit for songs when he had nothing to do with them.

in the transition to full-on orchestra sound in video game ost nobuo has lost his simple magic, but he WAS amazing :]

would you like some recs from me OP?
im a big fan of Vg ost's

So /r9k/, at the risk of being called a weeaboo, what are you opinions on Masami Ueda?

Personally, I find much of work to be absolutely fantastic. He is, in my opinion, one of the best composers of our time, and definitely can compete with the best of all time.

"he began to play the piano at the age of eleven or twelve, with Elton John as his biggest influence."

this guy is just as good as mozart

GIANT troll thread

comparing Uematsu to Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Sibelius, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Puccini

I mean, jesus christ, you are just NAIVE

His shit sucks.

>>9745282

dude has anyone ever heard of the games their music is from? UMM don't think so. uematsu did final fantasy one of the biggest and best games of all time. get your facts straight before you run your mouth

>>9745167


You have something wrong with you

>>9745339
>final fantasy
>best games of all time
Dohohohohoho

>>9745419
This. Sure, I'm a Uematsu fan, but come on. Best games of all time? Nah. Good games? Sort of. 7-10 were good, everything else was either generic bullshit seen in every game out at the time, or completely worthless trash that shouldn't have had the Final Fantasy name attached to it. Hell, half the reason the games were good in the first place is attributed to Uematsu's compositions.
>>9745282
>>9744428

You both are apparently of the mindset that it's impossible to be good unless you were from a couple hundred years ago. That mindset is wrong, and actually quite pathetic. Grow up and stop limiting yourself to ancient composers, and accept that just maybe someone from our generation actually has some fucking talent.

>>9745483

You are either trolling the fuck out of me or have no understanding of music. It's not because they're from hundreds of years ago, it's because they took music as an artform to the fucking limit and pushed every boundary imaginable. Does Uematsu push out a few nice 4-minute tunes every few years? Yeah sure, they're pretty and work well in the games. Mozart composed over 600 works by his 30s, a large number of which are regarded as some of the most exceptionally written music of all time. There is no fucking comparison to be made here.

>>9745622
>implying Uematsu hasn't produced hundreds of works (see: FF9, he wrote 110 musical pieces for that game alone)
>implying his work isn't considered as some of the best music of our time

Get over it kid. He's openly regarded as one of the best composers. Music he made for a fucking game series has TOURED THE WORLD. One of his songs was used during the 2004 Olympics for fuck sake.

Face it, you dumb fuck. He's a master at his art, and you sitting there spitting your dummy out about how a couple of fuck knuckles from a few hundred years ago are infinitely better than him is a joke. Despite very clear FACTS stating you are wrong, you still insist you are right. Just fucking get over yourself.

>>9745749

>a couple of fuck knuckles

too obvious

>>9745768
Who says I'm trolling? I'm not. You're a fucking moron for dismissing Uematsu's talent. I'm not saying he is the best there ever was. I'm saying he's up there. It's not my fault you took offense to it, you retarded beta-male fuck.

>>9745622

Hmmyeah. Uematsu doesn't rank up to the greatest natural musical genius in history who also was groomed to be the greatest musical genius in history ever since he was born. Why is this not a huge surprise?

As a musician, I gotta say I have massive respect for Uematsu. It's really difficult to understand how good he is, until you compare him to the droves of professional composers who score the bulk of films, videogames and such today. I think Uematsu being completely self-learned is - was, at least - his greatest asset; unlike a great deal of dickwads who went to music academies (I'm one of them), Uematsu doesn't have this pretentious jerkoff impulse to one-up classical composers by making his music increasingly sophisticated; he just writes music that sounds good. And it does. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to write music that consistently isn't generic and boring as all Hell? That's pretty much why Uematsu is the fucking man.

The funny thing is, a lot of the man's best work is actually in the first four Final Fantasies, as far as I'm concerned. So it's clear that there are limits to what you can do with just talent. He's flat-out weak at orchestration, and Black Mage bizarrely fails to play up the strengths of his music for the most part. But even so, he's certainly one of the most outright talented composers around now.

>>9745622

You're a joke bro. Uematsu is definitely talented, and is definitely in top 20 composers of all time. Of course people like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart etc will be seen as better than him. This doesn't mean he isn't talented, this doesn't mean he isn't one of the best.

>Employed by company
>Create iconic music for their game series
>Leave company
>The games just aren't the same
>Start own company
>Your former company hires your company to create music for a much higher price than before
Just as planned.

>>9745801
>you retarded beta-male fuck
>beta-male
>actually uses the term "beta male" as an insult

Shiro Sagisu is pretty god-tier.

>>9745824
>>9745812
>>9745801

You people are insufferable. I'm not "dissing" Uematsu; as I said, he's decent, he gets the job done, he knows how to create effective video game soundtracks. But if you think he's anywhere near the likes of Bach you're on a whole other level of stupid. No, it's not because Bach was alive hundreds of years ago. If you understood music you'd know exactly why it is. Uematsu has some cool melodies, some simple piano tunes. That's all fine and dandy.

Listen to Tifa's theme, then listen to a Bach fugue. And I mean *listen*, don't just sit there comatose and hypnotised. It's the intricacy, the nuance, the mastery of the form itself. There are people who've played Bach for decades and can still put different interpretations on the works. This is simply not a comparison you can make.

>>9744077
>>9744114
>>9744159
>>9744275
Damn, this OP has already turned into copypasta that fast.

>>9745940
Why not? What makes you so special as to decide that?

Uematsu's music has captured the minds of millions. It's been used at the Olympics, bands have toured the world playing his music. What fucking more from a composer do you need before you accept the fact he's good? Clearly musical talent isn't a problem. It's your understanding of talent.

You just sit there and say "If its not like this, its not good". I'm sorry, but thats absurd. Uematsu isn't writing "classical" music. He isn't trying to push boundaries, he isn't trying to do what Bach and Mozart did. He writes music that fits perfectly within the games. The emotion, the fluency, everything he did was flawless. It's commonly accepted that Final Fantasy would NEVER have been anything near as a success if not for him. Some simple tunes? Mate, have you ever played some Beethoven on the piano? I've seen the uneducated play Bach with one hand after spending 5 minutes learning. Wanna know why that music is still considered good? Because it fit what Bach was writing it for. Because it portrayed its message in an amazing way. The same way Uematsu's music flawlessly portrays its message. The difference is that instead of trying to reinvent the musical world, Uematsu is trying to tell stories and entertain us. To say you don't like his music is understandable. To deny it's critical acclaim for virtually no reason other than "HURR MOZART IS BETTER!" is a fucking joke.

>>9746053
sweet nostalgia goggles bro let me try them

>>9744077
Yasunori Mitsuda is better in my opinion.

The only Nobuo Uematsu work I really really liked was in FF6.

Yasunori Mitsuda is fucking forever.

I dont see enough youtube links in this thread

>>9746053
You realise you just agreed with him?
He's arguing that Uematsu isn't as good as Bach. He isn't.

>>9746551
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kZZvU0gWtY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbeeMm9LQSM&
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbEoTownSrA&

>>9746551

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAzQERH7BjY&feature=PlayList&p=0C855D43EBE4C889&playnext_
from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

The Final Fantasy Tour de Japon playlist. Enjoy

>>9746576
>He isn't.

OPINIONS

>>9746551
Probably because Uematsu's music is best heard while immersed in the game, so you can fully understand what he's trying to portray.

You're Not Alone!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHsXNkI1rfA
To Zanarkand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08RYp-uDpPo
Kuja's Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkamgZq-wT8
Passive Sorrow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8pnHhsyhhI

All good pieces that perfectly accompany the game.

>>9746576
No, he's arguing Uematsu writes "a couple neat tunes each year" and that he isn't a great composer. I'm arguing that he is a great composer, and that while clearly he'll never be considered better than Bach and the like, he can be considered one of the best composers of all time.

>>9745749
Why do you keep insulting that guy? Can't you have a civilised argument?

>>9745824
He might be good but there is no way he is in the list of Top 20 composers. Do you know how many composers there are?

>>9746636
>implying that a large number of composers means Uematsu isn't a great one.

That makes so much sense bro. So much.

He's top 20, easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp6kMUISpYM

A challenger!

>>9746599
YEAH BRO UEMATSU IS TOTALY BETTER THAN BACH MAN AND IF YOU THINK OTHERWISE ITS JUST UR OPINION

>>9746622
> he's decent, he gets the job done, he knows how to create effective video game soundtracks
Doesn't sound like he's belittling him much to me. Just pointing out that he can't be compared to the great composers (many of which were alive in the 20th century by the way, so it's not because they're a few hundred years old).

>>9746636
>civilised argument
>crying about swear words being used
what? you cant handle a few naughty words being thrown around? that somehow makes an argument uncivilised because you and the douchebag I was insulting can't handle such terrible words as fuck?

>>9746654
It does make sense - there are fucking tons of amazing composers who are better than Uematsu.
Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they're not as good as Uematsu.

>>9746665
Nah, what he's saying is "I don't particularly like him, so he's not a great a composer". When asked why that is so, he replies with "LOL HES NOT BACH". Oh yep.

And yeah, he can be compared to the great composers. He's largely credited with the success of the Final Fantasy series. His music pieces have been used in multiple world wide events including the 2004 Olympics. His music was so popular that multiple tours have been done worldwide. He's considered so good that when he left the company to become a freelance composer, the company hired him back for more than they were originally paying him because they acknowledged his musical prowess and how crucial it was to their series.

>>9746679
Just because I haven't heard of them doesn't mean they are better than him either. I somehow doubt the majority of composers you could list have had the success and influence Uematsu has had.

He is one of the consistently good things about the FF franchise. Say what you want about the story, the characters, the combat system or the graphics, the music of FF has always been consistently amazing.

>>9746722
LADY GAGA IS GOOD BECAUSE SHE IS POPULAR

>>9746665

I disagree, I think he's earned a place beside any of the great composers.

There is so much music out there nowadays that creating something truly revolutionary just doesn't happen anymore, and for that reason no new musician will be held in such a high regard as the classical composers.

But managing to create such simple, interesting melodies regardless is an entirely different type of skill - and one I'm happy to give him absolute credit for.

>>9746773
The thing is, it's true.

>>9746782
Urgh. Pretty much exactly the words I've been looking for.
>>9746773
lol i trol u

One of my favourite artists.

nuff said.

>>9746722
Abba toured the world. David Cook had a song played during the olympics.
The company thing doesn't mean he's as good at composing on the same scale and to the same degree of excellence most composers are, it means he's good at writing background music for computer games.

By saying he is a top 20 composer, you are trying to argue that he is better than....
Prokofiev
Scriabin
Webern
Berg
Schoenberg
Scriabin
Shostakovich
Bruckner
Ravel
Liszt
Satie
Mosolov
Ives
Sorabji
Penderecki
Janacek

All these are composers are people that regularly come outside of the Top 20 in 'Greatest Composer' lists. Most even don't come in at the top 50.
That's what you're trying to argue. That Uematsu is better than any of these. Pick anyone from that list and try comparing them to Uematsu.

I have long said Nobuo deserves recognition among the greatest composers of all time. We're not the only ones that think so: the opening sequence to FFVIII was voted the top video game opening sequence by several magazines mainly due to his music.

>>9746605
A lot of these links dont suit me well but I really liked Kuja's Theme

also, moar links faggots. Lets do a classics vs weeaboo composers battle!

>>9746825
Abba and David Cook are no different to Lady Gaga. They are just what's "cool" at the time.

All those guys you've listed... What did they bring to the table? It's hard to make comparisons, but really, what influence and success did they have in comparison to Uematsu?

Uematsu revolutionized music in the gaming world. People have called him the John Williams of the gaming world. The company thing all but proves his musical ability. A multi-million dollar company virtually begged him to come back. Not just because he made good music, but because his music fit the games he wrote them for so damn well that no one else could compare to him. In fact, I'm gonna say every single person you listed has nothing on Uematsu.

>>9746853
>>9746853
If you liked Kuja's theme, you may like:
Immoral Melody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci7-tOSkGrE
Pandemonium, The Castle Frozen In Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFcLvnNnQpY

Just a couple more randoms:
Tidus' Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZIVJmSDU5M
Yuna's Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIw1sdmRyq8
Silence Before The Storm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EInRqOrdLmI

Again, a big issue with getting into Uematsu's music is that it is written to be heard while playing the game, getting into the story etc.

Also, just for laughs, he wrote this song:
Otherworld
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OONqel6f_8M

>>9746905
>Abba and David Cook are no different to Lady Gaga. They are just what's "cool" at the time.
Like Uematsu?

>All those guys you've listed... What did they bring to the table? It's hard to make comparisons, but really, what influence and success did they have in comparison to Uematsu?
Dickloads. You're obviously ignorant to any of them, and there's no way I'm going through and listing each composers contribution, but here's a couple.
Prokofiev is one of the most performed artists in the USA and that's just his orchestral works - not his ballets or operas etc.
Scriabin is most certainly the person who had the biggest influence on twelve tone and atonal music. He pretty much created it, actually.
Liszt invented the symphonic poem, and experimented heavily with musical form and harmony.
Try looking any of them up bro.

>Uematsu revolutionized music in the gaming world.
Exactly. Music in the GAMING WORLD. Music to be used for simple background and atmosphere.
Not music to be appreciated on its own.

>In fact, I'm gonna say every single person you listed has nothing on Uematsu.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH

>>9747080
>implying Uematsu is "cool" now, and hasn't been admired for 26 years
>implying that anything the people you listed have done has had any sort of impact on the world
Oh thats right, your listing trivial bullshit that hasn't had any impact on the world.
>implying you can't appreciate music unless it's written specifically to be appreciated
Nah bro, you're just inventing bullshit rules to further your floundering argument.
>HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
proving my point, cheers.

>>9747080

No, his music is appreciated on its own more so than because of the games. There's a world concert tour going on since 2007 playing his music, there's no gaming in that at all.

I think Yann Tiersen is a better, more versatile composer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFLF-gh4C2M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duGbgrv9LRE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8lPEgqE16o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfwWKCRth_A
his music is just so... aesthetically pleasing ;_;

>>9747019
>>9747019
>Again, a big issue with getting into Uematsu's music is that it is written to be heard while playing the game, getting into the story etc.

Indeed.

>>9747130
Pretty weak. I had an inkling on your last post, but gave you the benefit of the doubt. 4/10 overall.

>>9747080
Wanna know the difference between your list and Uematsu? They will be remembered for doing trivial things, adding little to the world of music in comparison to the likes of Uematsu, who will always be remembered as the man who revolutionized gaming music.

Suck it bro, Uematsu will go down as one of the best, and most influential, composers of all time.

>>9747163
Ah. So in other words, your calling me a troll because 1) you can't do anything else, and 2) your attempt to change my mind failed.

Cry more.

ITT: people whose only exposure to culture is tv and vidya + some classical fags whose only exposure is the previously mentioned and some classical shit they learned, studying boring ass classical instruments.

Uematsu is good, but there's no fucking way anyone is best when it comes to composing music. It's like saying pizza is the best food.

inb4 hamburgers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy_oxdNUSwY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYb82HsOisw

>>9747240
Yeah exactly. But it's conceivable to say that there is a group of foods that is best, and that pizza (and hamburgers) are a part of it. Which is all I'm doing, and for some reason a bunch of Classical music faggots (I'm assuming these retards wasted time and money studying them at college/uni) are taking extreme offense to someone within the last couple of decades being called a great composer. I get the feeling these same guys will argue John Williams is crap as well.

Greatest song of all time:

http://armcannon.bandcamp.com/track/hulk-hogan-shawn-michaels

Music is the product of the highest human
intelligence, and of the best senses, the listening senses and of
imagination and intuition. And as soon as it becomes just a means for
ambiance, as we say, environment, or for being used for certain purposes, like music for video games,
then music becomes a whore, and one should not allow that really; one should
not serve any existing demands or in particular not commercial values. That
would be terrible: that is selling out the music.

>>9747201
No, it's because you argue like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGex0kLgNok

>>9747291

Yeh, except there's this guy who only likes porridge. How you gon explain to him that pizza is actually good?

Just give up arguing guys. Agree to disagree, c'mon!

ennio morricone > all

>>9746853
Schoenberg - Not only could he compose, but he plays a mean game of table tennis!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDeDoe8iZl0

>>9747619
what the fuck am I listening to.

strangelinkblox

>>9745622
>>9745940
I love you. :P

Also, hey, there are a lot video game composers who gets the job done better than Uematsu, in my opinion. I always found him boring because his melodies and harmonies are too simple. Masashi Hamauzu was a worthy successor.

And then you have the video composers who are just too good for the games they are composing for: Go Shiina. I mean, let the REAL talents get something to work on.

Uematsu has never pushed musical theory to new limits but then current classical music has floundered in my opinon. Sure, composers write interesting pieces, but we've no real artistic direction other than emulating and elaborating upon older styles. Modernism really feels like a step backwards to me.

In that, Uematsu delivers unchallenging but highly memorable and emotive pieces; I enjoy Bach and Shubert and a lot of other composers, but hell I can't remember nearly as many melodies from their music.

Uematsu is a modern day genuis; unfortunately the state of music nowadays makes that rather less of a challenge than it used to be, but he's still undoubtedly a genius.

>>9747697

Nah, I can't get into FFXIII ost at all because its just too fucking ambient, that's actually one of the critiques one of the pretentious classical fans said about Uematsu. The music from I-X is regarded so highly because it stands on its own regardless of the videogame.

Uematsu-sensei is one of the most important composers of our time. I saw him in Sweden a few weeks ago at the Distant Worlds II consert. It was aswesome.

Piano arrangements of his music is much better than what we normally here. I find most of his music boring as hell, but when he plays them on piano they sound amazing.

>>9747619
What the hell is this. This isn't even fucking music. Why the fuck do these pretentious amateur kike composers think so talented by laying down random notes? Nobuo should set the standard for what modern music truly should be. Not random "avant-garde" garbage cmposers hipsters like to name drop.

Shit's mindboggling
Trolls everywhere

Hitoshi Sakimoto is superior.

what really amazes me is that he's made SO MUCH MUSIC and for so many moods, scenes, etc.

i love nobuo uematsu

>>9748045
WELCOME TO GANGBANG OF TROLLING NEWFAGGOT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh0AaTOfkIc
alva noto and ryuichii sakamoto faguts

Oh yeah, Nobuo is always a joy to listen to. Probably the best part of those games.

>>9748022
I think you're demonstrating his point.

>>9748022
The notes are not random. Why do I even bother falling for this cascade of trolls? :(

i like the guy who did the earthbound music, i think he did pokemon too?

/hipster opinion

>>9744077
He makes good music. There's nothing technically special in his composition, but he has a fantastic sense of melody and harmony.

He peaked at Dancing Mad. A fantastic composition, but not in the realm of Bach and Chopin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ios6zLDR8AI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MRGt_PvyT8

Bach is in heaven, Uematsu still walks the earth. We'll see when both are dead. People usually put you in your place some 50 years after your death, if you're not forgotten.

"Beethoven tells you what it's like to be Beethoven and Mozart tells you what it's like to be human. Bach tells you what it's like to be the universe."

I love Douglas Adams

>>9749405
Holy shit, saved.

>>9747291

It's really sad because the most important part of that other dude's post is actually that your only exposure to culture is tv and video games. That's why you hold Uematsu to such high regard -- you simply don't know any better. You think a good video game soundtrack is sufficient to have someone rank as a 'great composer'. You've never heard of Liszt and yet you try to discuss classical music (in contrast to Uematsu). lol, gimme a fucking break, you clueless moron. Go mash some more buttons and listen to those MIDI masterpieces.

>>9749405

And Uematsu tells you when you've entered a random battle.

i was listening to this uematsu guy on youtube, are there any links to stuff that doesn't sound all 8bit-y if you know what i mean?

>>9749564
do you like the earthbound ost though? just curious, dunno if it ranks as being "compositions" really since it's more folky and awesome and apparently influenced by shit like the beatles. but it really is neat.

SUSUMU HIRASAWA > all the other Japs mentioned so far.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV26zIE0130&feature=related

>>9749405

Y'know, I find it interesting that we're using Bach here as a standard for music. You know his contemporaries thought he was a great organist rather than a significant composer, that his music was regarded as very conservative, and that the majority of his work consists of quickly written pieces of what amounts to church background music that Bach himself regarded as consumables barely worth writing down? He wasn't canonized as one of the all-time greats until something like a hundred years after he'd died.

Yes, Bach's music is fantastic. But srsly, rather than an artist, he was very much a professional musician who wrote music for a variety of occasions, and it's testament to his ability, rather than his artistic ambition to take music to its limits or whatever, that we remember him.

So basically, if you discount Uematsu because he composes for video games, that's OK, but if you do that, you should also discount substantial portions of classical music, too.