Tokyo Sonata scene depicts Kenji performing "Clair de Lune" from the Suite bergamasque at his audition with Megumi, Ryūhei, and his piano teacher watching. His performance is flawless. Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, while Nick Schager of "Slant Magazine" gave it 3 out of 4 stars. Christopher Bourne of "Meniscus Magazine" said, "Kurosawa's latest film, "Tokyo Sonata", is his best in quite a few years, a truly frightening work that achieves its effects without resorting to tired genre mechanics." He also wrote that "Debussy's 'Clair de Lune' may well have never been put to
Au clair de la lune clair de la lune" as the basis of his song "Pierrot" ("Pantomime", L. 31) from "Quatre Chansons de Jeunesse". Erik Satie quoted this song in the section "Le flirt" (No. 19) of his 1914 piano collection "Sports et divertissements". In 1926, Samuel Barber rewrote "H-35: Au Claire de la Lune: A Modern Setting of an old folk tune" while studying at the Curtis Institute of Music. In 1928, Marc Blitzstein orchestrated "Variations sur 'Au Claire du la Lune'." In 1964, French pop singer France Gall recorded a version of this song, with altered lyrics to make it a love song.