Celebrated pianist and avant-garde composer Harold Budd was one of the pioneers of the ambient music movement since the early seventies. His trademark "soft pedal" style of improvisational piano playing created haunting, meditative scores and found international recognition upon the 1978 release of The Pavilion of Dreams, produced by the forefather of ambient music, Brian Eno. After his transition from composer to performer, Budd cemented his reputation in music history, defining and challenging a genre for the next 30 years.