Joe Hisaishi

Composer / Conductor

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Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, Steven Spielberg and John Williams: Some of the greatest filmmakers have cultivated enduring mutually enriching relationships with musicians. The decades-long partnership between the Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki and the composer, pianist and conductor Joe Hisaishi certainly belongs in this hall of fame.
New York Times

Composer-in-Association: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director Designate: Japan Century Symphony Orchestra (from 2025/26 season)
Music Partner: New Japan Philharmonic

Joe Hisaishi, a composer, conductor and pianist, has established himself as a formidable force in contemporary music, for his delicately crafted symphonic and solo works, as well as his globally successful film music. Hisaishi is greatly in demand as a conductor performing with the most notable symphony orchestras across the globe. With nearly 40 solo albums and over 100 film scores to his name, he is one of the most celebrated composers of our time.

Renowned for his long-standing collaboration with Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli films, Hisaishi has won international awards for his scores. His popular soundtracks for Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Ponyo amongst others, capture his sensitive and imaginative amalgamation of the symphonic, jazz, electronic and minimalist genres. Many of these iconic works have been brought to huge live audiences in his recent sold-out performances in Madison Square Garden, New York over 3 nights, La Defense in Paris and Olympic Hall in Munich. Autumn 2024 sees a two-day residency at Royal Albert Hall in London where he brings “Hisaishi Symphonic” live shows which includes Princess Mononoke Suite, his Symphony No.2, as well as Britten’s Four Sea Interludes with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hisaishi’s recent symphony orchestra engagements have seen him conducting the Toronto and Chicago Symphony orchestras, Royal, Helsinki Philharmonic orchestra and Wiener Symphoniker. Alongside his film music works, he conducts classical repertoire from the likes of, Ravel, Reich, Mussorgsky, Brahms and Pärt, and his own symphonic compositions such as DA•MA•SHI•E and The East Land Symphony. Hisaishi also had a successful weeklong residency with Seattle Symphony Orchestra where he led three sold-out concerts, as well as curating and conducting a chamber concert dedicated to contemporary music from his peers and a panel discussion with young audience members. In the 2024/25 season, he debuts with San Francisco Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestras. After a successful debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 2023, Hisaishi returns to Los Angeles Philharmonic for the world premiere of his Harp Concerto, commissioned by the orchestra and performed by their own harpist, Emmanuel Ceysson.

A Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist, Hisaishi has released the titles Merry-Go-Round of Life and A Symphonic Celebration, both of which are new arrangements that bring a fresh excitement to his Studio Ghibli masterpieces. His most recent recording, Joe Hisaishi in Vienna, features the world premiere recordings of two of his compositions – Symphony No.2 and Viola Saga with Wiener Symphoniker and soloist Antoine Tamestit.

As a passionate pioneer of contemporary music, Hisaishi collaborates with similarly experimental artists including Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, Nadia Sirota, Phillip Glass, David Lang and Terry Reilly. Since 2014, he has been presenting his eponymous “MUSIC FUTURE” concerts in Tokyo, bringing together the works and talents of these notable collaborators. Volume 11 of the series enjoys an airing in Tokyo in summer 2024 and he has also previously travelled with the series to Carnegie Hall in New York in 2022 and Seattle in 2024. He holds Young Composer’s Competition every year to inspire and empower young composers, and the winning composition makes its world premier at his MUSIC FUTURE concerts.

Hisaishi is the recipient of both the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, received in 2009, and The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, in 2023 by the government of Japan. Hisaishi is Music Partner with New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and from 2021, Principal Guest Conductor with Japan Century Symphony Orchestra where he is Music Director designate from the 2025/26 season. Hisaishi was also appointed as Composer-in-Association of Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2024.

HarrisonParrott represents Joe Hisaishi for worldwide general management.