Influential Japanese electronic music composer Isao Tomita, best known for his synthesised arrangements of classical works, has died of heart failure, aged 84.

Born in Tokyo in 1932, Tomita lived briefly in China before returning to Japan. He took lessons in composition, orchestration and music theory while studying art history at Keio University in Tokyo and as a student supported himself by composing for local orchestras. Upon graduating in 1955 he launched a career as a composer for film, television and theatre. The following year he wrote the theme music for the Japanese Olympic gymnastics team for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.

In the late 1960s Tomita became interested in electronic music, importing a Moog III synthesiser into Japan in 1971. Over 14 months he recorded his enormously successful album Snowflakes are Dancing, arrangements of Debussy’s ‘tone paintings’ such as Snowflakes are Dancing, Clair de Lune and Arabesque No 1. The album was popular in Japan and internationally, entering the top 50 charts in the USA. It was also nominated for four Grammy Awards – a first for a Japanese artist. More recently, several tracks were used in the 2014 film Heaven Knows What. Tomita went on to make similar...