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Joe Hisaishi: The Boy and the Heron, Symphonic Suite

When a film that has touched generations of audiences finds its way from the cinema to the concert platform, something rare takes shape: the chance to hear a beloved score anew. With his Symphonic Suite for&nbsp;The Boy and the Heron, Joe Hisaishi reshapes the film score for which he received wide recognition in 2023 into a self-contained symphonic work for piano and orchestra. At his side is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with which the Japanese composer shares one of the defining partnerships of his international career.
Deutsche Grammophon releases the recording on 6 November 2026, inviting both long-standing connoisseurs of the Ghibli universe and curious newcomers to discover Hisaishi's musical language between screen and concert hall. Both on the podium and at the piano, the composer presents his music here in its most fully realised concert form.
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<h2>From cinema to concert hall: how the suite came about</h2>
The Boy and the Heron, known in Japanese by its original title&nbsp;Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka&nbsp;('How Do You Live?'), was released in 2023 as Hayao Miyazaki's first feature film in ten years and marked a high point in the joint work of director and composer. The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA Award, while critics regarded Hisaishi's score as one of his most poetic works: clear, restrained and of great emotional depth.
For the concert version, Hisaishi transferred this film music into a symphonic form that follows its own dramatic logic. In place of individual scene miniatures, a continuous arc emerges in which the piano as solo instrument and the colours of a large orchestra enter into dialogue with one another.
The suite already passed its baptism of fire in the concert hall: in summer 2025 Hisaishi presented the work to Japanese audiences together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and shortly afterwards its European premiere followed at the BBC Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall. This release now makes that concert experience permanently available.
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<h2>Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra</h2>
Joe Hisaishi ranks among the most influential composers for film and classical music worldwide. He rose to fame through his decades-long collaboration with Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, on films such as&nbsp;My Neighbor Totoro,&nbsp;Princess Mononoke&nbsp;and&nbsp;Spirited Away. At the same time, as a conductor, pianist and composer of an extensive contemporary catalogue, he has established a firm place in concert life. Since 2023, Hisaishi has been an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon, which has previously released, among others, the Ghibli soundtrack collection&nbsp;<a href="https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/a-symphonic-celebration-joe-hisaishi-12971">A Symphonic Celebration</a>, the acclaimed album&nbsp;<a href="https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/joe-hisaishi-in-vienna-13386">Joe Hisaishi in Vienna</a>&nbsp;and the celebrated performances captured on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/joe-hisaishi-conducts-14096">Joe Hisaishi Conducts</a>.
As Composer-in-Association of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hisaishi enjoys a particularly close artistic relationship with the ensemble, one that already underpinned the acclaimed album&nbsp;A Symphonic Celebration&nbsp;and found its echo in sold-out concerts from London and Paris to Tokyo. In the Symphonic Suite for&nbsp;The Boy and the Heron, this experience and a deepened mutual trust come together in an interpretation through which Hisaishi, as conductor and pianist, conveys his own musical language at first hand.
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<h2>Formats and collector's editions of The Boy and the Heron soundtrack</h2>
For collectors, the work appears as a coloured vinyl edition that combines the sonic warmth of the analogue format with the design pedigree of the Yellow Label. This places the title alongside the series of high-quality Hisaishi releases on Deutsche Grammophon and offers lovers of physical formats an object of lasting value.
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<h2>Experience the magic of Joe Hisaishi's The Boy and the Heron Symphonic Suite at home!</h2>
The Symphonic Suite is not only to be enjoyed on record: in autumn 2026, Joe Hisaishi returns to Europe with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for his World Dream Tour, which also takes in selected cities in Germany and Switzerland. As conductor and piano soloist, he presents the European premiere of his newly composed&nbsp;Concerto for Orchestra&nbsp;alongside the suite for&nbsp;The Boy and the Heron. Anyone who first discovers the music at home can then experience it in its full impact in the concert hall soon afterwards.
You can obtain the vinyl edition of the Symphonic Suite for&nbsp;The Boy and the Heron&nbsp;in the DG Store, and you can find further recordings and current dates for the composer on his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/artists/joe-hisaishi">artist page at Deutsche Grammophon</a>.
Discover it now and follow the journey from cinema to concert hall!

Joe Hisaishi: Symphony No. 3 & Harp Concerto

On&nbsp;Symphony No. 3 &amp; Harp Concerto, the internationally acclaimed Japanese composer and conductor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/artists/joe-hisaishi">Joe Hisaishi</a>&nbsp;brings together the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the renowned harpist Emmanuel Ceysson. The album unites two major works in a world-premiere recording: Hisaishi&rsquo;s Symphony No. 3 &ldquo;Metaphysica&rdquo; and a new harp concerto written especially for Ceysson.
In this way, the recording combines symphonic grandeur with soloistic virtuosity and Hisaishi&rsquo;s unmistakable musical language, poised between cinematic poetry and contemporary classical music.
<h2>A Harp Concerto That Reimagines the Harp</h2>
The idea for the harp concerto took shape in 2023, following Hisaishi&rsquo;s performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl before an audience of 17,500. Working closely with Emmanuel Ceysson, he developed a three-movement work that explores the sonic possibilities of the harp anew.
Far removed from familiar notions of gentle restraint, the concerto reveals a bold, dynamic voice: carried by driving rhythms, moments of introspection and a dance-like energy that culminates in a powerful, electrifying finale.
<h2>Symphony No. 3 &ldquo;Metaphysica&rdquo;: Sound in Motion</h2>
The album is complemented by Hisaishi&rsquo;s Symphony No. 3 &ldquo;Metaphysica&rdquo;, commissioned for the 50th anniversary of the New Japan Philharmonic and premiered in 2021 under the composer&rsquo;s baton. Conceived as an exploration of &ldquo;sonic movement&rdquo;, the symphony unfolds across three sections (existence, where are we going? and substance), whose finely structured rhythmic and harmonic processes grow into expressive soundscapes.
<h2>Joe Hisaishi: From Cinema to the Concert Hall</h2>
Joe Hisaishi ranks among Japan&rsquo;s most influential composers. He achieved worldwide fame through his decades-long collaboration with Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, on films such as&nbsp;Princess Mononoke,&nbsp;Spirited Away&nbsp;and&nbsp;My Neighbor Totoro.
Since 2023 he has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, with the label presenting the full breadth of his work as composer, conductor and pianist. Following&nbsp;A Symphonic Celebration,&nbsp;Joe Hisaishi in Vienna&nbsp;and&nbsp;Joe Hisaishi Conducts,&nbsp;Symphony No. 3 &amp; Harp Concerto&nbsp;marks the next chapter in this series.
<h2>Symphony No. 3 &amp; Harp Concerto on CD, Vinyl and in Dolby Atmos</h2>
Released on 24 July 2026, the album brings together composer and conductor Joe Hisaishi, soloist Emmanuel Ceysson and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon. It is available in digital, CD and vinyl formats, with the vinyl editions including a black LP and a premium Crystal Clear double LP in a gatefold sleeve. For a particularly immersive listening experience, the recording is also available in Hi-Res Audio and Dolby Atmos.
<h2>Discover Symphony No. 3 &amp; Harp Concerto Now</h2>
Experience&nbsp;Symphony No. 3 &amp; Harp Concerto&nbsp;by Joe Hisaishi, featuring Emmanuel Ceysson and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Stream the album&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stage-plus.com/audio/album_85M64TBDBSPJCDHP6C?at=dg-website">on STAGE+</a>&nbsp;in the highest video and audio quality, or discover the physical editions&nbsp;<a href="https://store.deutschegrammophon.com/en-en/products/joe-hisaishi-symphony-no-3-metaphysica-harp-concerto-118654">in the DG Store</a>.

Joe Hisaishi Presents his new DG Album The Boy and the Heron Symphonic Suite for Piano and Orchestra

The legendary composer-conductor-pianist presents a new symphonic suite, reimagined from his Golden Globe-nominated score for Studio Ghibli's Oscar-winning film The Boy and the Heron
Hisaishi is the soloist in this atmospheric work for piano and orchestra,
released on 6 November 2026
&ldquo;Few Composers Can Sell Out Arenas. He's One of Them&rdquo; &ndash; The New York Times
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The world premiere recording of Joe Hisaishi&rsquo;s Symphonic Suite The Boy and the Heron for piano and orchestra will be released by Deutsche Grammophon this autumn. Recomposed from his Golden Globe-nominated original soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning Studio Ghibli-Hayao Miyazaki animated film, the Symphonic Suite is a standalone concert work for solo piano and orchestra. The album was recorded in April 2025 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, of which Hisaishi was appointed Composer-in-Association in 2024.
Symphonic Suite The Boy and the Heron for piano and orchestra will be released on 6&nbsp;November 2026. Digital taster tracks from the album will drop on 14&nbsp;August, 11&nbsp;September and 23&nbsp;October. Limited-edition coloured-vinyl and picture-disc versions of the LP will be available exclusively from the DG store.
Enigmatic and semi-autobiographical, Miyazaki&rsquo;s The Boy and the Heron tells the story of Mahito, a boy whose mother is killed in a bombing raid on Tokyo during World War Two. Having left the city for life in the countryside with his father and new stepmother, Mahito struggles to deal with his grief. Drawn by a mysterious heron into a magical world inhabited by both the living and the dead, he ultimately chooses to return to reality and accept his changed family circumstances.
Miyazaki and Hisaishi&rsquo;s legendary collaboration began with Nausica&auml; of the Valley of the Wind (1984), whose success led to the founding of Studio Ghibli. Unusually, when it came to The Boy and the Heron, the composer only saw the film when it was almost complete, and was given free rein by Miyazaki to write the soundtrack he felt would suit its mystical and poignant story.
On this occasion, rather than using the full orchestral palette, Hisaishi opted for an unobtrusive, minimalist style, full of repeated patterns &ndash; notably on the solo piano, supported at different times by an ensemble including strings, brass, tuned percussion and electronics. In so doing, notes Pitchfork, he created &ldquo;his leanest work to date, giving [Miyazaki&rsquo;s] pictures plenty of room to move&rdquo;.
Speaking about the process of recomposing his original score, Hisaishi says: &ldquo;I usually create a suite based on a soundtrack in the same year as a film is released. This time I waited a little longer, and then decided to entirely rewrite the music for the concert hall. The Symphonic Suite is therefore a standalone piece, completely independent from the film.&rdquo;
Central to the Suite, as to the soundtrack, is the piano part, played by Hisaishi himself. As he explains, &ldquo;The first half of The Boy and the Heron is about a child experiencing loneliness in the real world. In the second half he enters a dark fantasy realm. I decided to unify these two worlds musically by placing my own piano at the heart of the score.&rdquo;
Many moments that fans of the movie will recognize are woven seamlessly into the new work, including the spiky, dissonant &ldquo;Gray Heron&rdquo; theme; the upbeat music representing the &ldquo;Warawara&rdquo;, human souls waiting to be born; and the heartfelt &ldquo;A Song of Prayer&rdquo;. The Suite is framed by the main theme, &ldquo;Ask me why&rdquo;, at first brief and questioning, then developed into a more optimistic extended version, offering a sense of resolution and hope, with Hisaishi&rsquo;s solo piano patterns remaining prominent above the orchestral accompaniment.
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Joe Hiaishi Live 2026
11th&nbsp;- 17th&nbsp;August 2026: &nbsp;- Radio City Music Hall Residency (as part of Joe Hisaishi NYC Takeover)
17th&nbsp;- 18th&nbsp;September 2026: - Japan Century Symphony Orchestra&nbsp;
2nd&nbsp;- 4th&nbsp;October 2026: - &lsquo;Cinema Music Concert&rsquo; with Concertgebouw Orkest, at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam
16th&nbsp;- 17th&nbsp;October 2026: - Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Boettcher Concert Hall at Denver Performing Arts Complex
22nd&nbsp;- 24th&nbsp;October 2026: - San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall, San Francisco&nbsp;
12th&nbsp;and 13th&nbsp;November 2026: - Orchestre de Paris at Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
14th&nbsp;November 2026: - Orchestre de Paris at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore&nbsp;
23rd&nbsp;November 2026: - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra&nbsp;at Royal Albert Hall&nbsp;
25th November 2026: - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Munchen Isarphiharmonie
26th November 2026: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at KKL Lucerne
28th November 2026: - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Kultur und Kongresszentrum Liederhalle Stuttgart
30th &nbsp;November 2026: - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Berlin Philharmonie&nbsp;
2nd December 2026: - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Hamburg Elbphilharmonie&nbsp;

Joe Hisaishi announces new album

This new Deutsche Grammophon album captures Hisaishi conducting &nbsp;his own vocal-orchestral suite The End of the World &nbsp;and the Japanese premiere of Steve Reich&rsquo;s The Desert Music&nbsp;
Recorded live at Suntory Hall last summer, the album features soprano Ella Taylor,&nbsp; The Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo and the Future Orchestra Classics 
Joe Hisaishi Conducts will be released on 8&nbsp;August 2025
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Joe Hisaishi&rsquo;s new album for Deutsche Grammophon documents a concert given at Tokyo&rsquo;s Suntory Hall on 31 July 2024. The programme featured Hisaishi&rsquo;s own The End of the World and the Japanese premiere of his friend and colleague Steve Reich&rsquo;s The Desert Music, played by Future Orchestra Classics (FOC) under the baton of the legendary composer-conductor-pianist himself. Established by Hisaishi in 2019 as part of his mission to share his love of classical music with new audiences, the FOC is an orchestra of players praised for their vivid, expressive performances. Hisaishi and the FOC were joined at Suntory Hall by The Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo and, in The End of the World, by soprano Ella Taylor.
Joe Hisaishi Conducts will be released in all formats on 8&nbsp;August 2025. &ldquo;D.e.a.d&rdquo; (The End of the World) and &ldquo;A. Slow&rdquo; (The Desert Music) will be issued for streaming/download on 27&nbsp;June and 18&nbsp;July respectively. This is Hisaishi&rsquo;s third full-length album for DG, with whom he signed an exclusive agreement in 2023. It follows on from the success of A&nbsp;Symphonic Celebration and the EP Ml&aacute;d&iacute;, both showcasing Hisaishi&rsquo;s iconic film music, and last spring&rsquo;s Joe Hisaishi in Vienna.
Hisaishi composed The End of the World after visiting Ground Zero in New York. &ldquo;I went there after 9/11,&rdquo; he recalls. &ldquo;When I saw the ruins of the World Trade Center, I was inspired to write The End of The World as I wondered to myself what the world would be like in the 21st century.&rdquo;&nbsp;The resulting three-movement suite for 12&nbsp;cellos, double bass, harp, percussion and piano was first performed in 2008. Its title was borrowed from another source of inspiration &ndash; the 1962 Skeeter Davis hit of that name (music by Arthur Kent, lyrics by Sylvia Dee).
By 2015, Hisaishi had transformed the suite into a five-movement work for solo voice, chorus and orchestra. The original three movements were &ldquo;Collapse&rdquo;; &ldquo;Grace of the St. Paul&rdquo; (a reference to St.&nbsp;Paul&rsquo;s Chapel, a sanctuary for emergency workers in the wake of 9/11); and &ldquo;Beyond the World&rdquo;. To these he added &ldquo;D.e.a.d&rdquo;, reimagined from the orchestral suite DEAD to include a vocal part with lyrics by Hisaishi&rsquo;s daughter Mai, a singer and lyricist. Now the fourth movement, &ldquo;Beyond the World&rdquo; features choral writing incorporated in 2009, with Latin lyrics by the composer himself. Acting as epilogue is his recomposed version of Kent &amp; Dee&rsquo;s The End of the World.
Steve Reich&rsquo;s The Desert Music (1982-83) is also in five movements. Written for amplified voices and orchestra, it sets words by American poet and physician William Carlos Williams (1883-1963). Having long admired Williams&rsquo; poetry, Reich chose a selection of poems from The Desert Music and Other Poems (1954) and Journey to Love (1955), using extracts from these to form an arch-like work.
The idea of the &ldquo;desert&rdquo; has many different associations for Reich. These include his own childhood journeys through the Mojave in California; biblical tales of Moses and the Israelites in Sinai; and the first ever atomic detonation, which took place in New Mexico&rsquo;s Alamogordo Desert in July 1945.
Just weeks after that test, codenamed Trinity, the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were struck by nuclear bombs. Reich chose post-war poems that referenced these events, and has said of his own work, &ldquo;In The Desert Music, the William Carlos Williams poems deal with the atomic bomb, so I had to express a darkness in the music that had not been present in my previous compositions&rdquo;.
&ldquo;The Desert Music refers not to a natural environment, but to the desert created in America by the first atomic bomb tests,&rdquo; adds Hisaishi. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t go so far as to say it was anti-war, but it&rsquo;s a work about the feelings that weigh on the American psyche about creating that particular &lsquo;desert&rsquo;.&rdquo;
&ldquo;In a way,&rdquo; he goes on, &ldquo;both works have themes related to war.&nbsp;This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, so it seems apt that I commemorate this&nbsp;important milestone by performing both The End of the World and Desert Music again at the BBC Proms in August, which is a great&nbsp;privilege.&rdquo;
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Joe Hisaishi &ndash; upcoming tour dates: 
3/4&nbsp;Jul &ndash; Esplanade, Singapore (Hisaishi, incl. Asian premiere of Harp Concerto and world premiere of The Boy and the Heron Suite for Piano and Orchestra, Stravinsky, M&aacute;rquez)
16/17&nbsp;Jul &ndash; Tokyo Dome (Hisaishi)
21/22 Jul &ndash; Lotte Concert Hall, Seoul (Hisaishi) &middot; 24/25&nbsp;Jul &ndash; Suntory Hall, Tokyo (Hisaishi)
14&nbsp;Aug &ndash; BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London (Hisaishi, Reich)
23&nbsp;Aug &ndash; Aichi Prefectural Arts Center, Nagoya (Hisaishi, Reich)
25&nbsp;Aug &ndash; Festival Hall, Osaka (Hisaishi, Reich) &middot; 26&nbsp;Aug &ndash; Hyogo Performing Arts Center (Hisaishi, Reich)
27&nbsp;Aug &ndash; Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Tokyo (Hisaishi, Reich)

Joe Hisaishi Presents Mládí for Piano and Strings

Ml&aacute;d&iacute; brings together music from three of the composer&rsquo;s scores for films made by actor-director Takeshi Kitano 
Hisaishi directs the Wiener Symphoniker strings from the keyboard
The recording comes out on 6 December to celebrate Hisaishi&rsquo;s birthday
This summer Joe Hisaishi became the first classical artist to headline three consecutive nights at Madison Square Garden, performing selections of the music he has written for the Studio Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki. For his latest Deutsche Grammophon release, the legendary composer, conductor and pianist turns the spotlight on his work with another leading figure in Japanese cinema, Takeshi Kitano. Recorded as part of the hugely successful collaboration with the Wiener Symphoniker that began with Hisaishi&rsquo;s acclaimed debut at the Vienna Musikverein in March 2023, Ml&aacute;d&iacute; will be released digitally and as a 12-inch vinyl EP&nbsp; to mark Hisaishi&rsquo;s 74th birthday on 6&nbsp;December 2024. A taster track will be issued on 24 October.
Written for piano and strings, Ml&aacute;d&iacute; sees Hisaishi take on the soloist&rsquo;s role, directing the players of the Wiener Symphoniker from the keyboard. The suite is made up of three excerpts from his soundtracks for films written and directed by Takeshi Kitano. Its opening movement, &ldquo;Summer&rdquo;, is taken from the 1999 road movie Kikujiro, &ldquo;HANA-BI&rdquo; comes from the 1997 crime thriller of the same name (also released as Fireworks), and the suite ends with the title track from Kitano&rsquo;s 1996 coming-of-age story &ldquo;Kids Return&rdquo;. Borrowed from the title of a wind sextet by Leo&scaron; Jan&aacute;ček, Ml&aacute;d&iacute; means &ldquo;youth&rdquo; in Czech.
An icon of the film world, Joe Hisaishi is known globally for his collaborations with Miyazaki on such movies as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and, most recently, The Boy and the Heron (2023), for which the composer earned a Golden Globe nomination. His debut DG album, A&nbsp;Symphonic Celebration &ndash; Music from the Studio Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki, was one of last year&rsquo;s best-selling classical albums worldwide.
Hisaishi has also garnered widespread respect for his catalogue of contemporary classical works, inspired by minimalism and the experimental writing of friends and colleagues such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Terry Riley, as well as by the rich musical heritage of Japan and Western classical traditions. This aspect of his career is reflected on his recently released second DG album, Joe Hisaishi in Vienna, which features the world premiere recordings of his Symphony No.&nbsp;2 and Viola Saga, performed by the Wiener Symphoniker (and soloist Antoine Tamestit), conducted by Hisaishi.
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Joe Hisaishi &ndash; upcoming tour dates: 
5/6/7/8 September &ndash; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco (Music from the Studio Ghibli Films)
27/28 September &ndash; Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo (Works by Dvoř&aacute;k &amp; Brahms)
24 October &ndash; The Symphony Hall, Osaka (Works by Reich &amp; Schumann)
14/15/17 November &ndash; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles (Works by Hisaishi &amp; Mussorgsky/Ravel) 23/24 November &ndash; Royal Albert Hall, London (Works by Hisaishi &amp; Britten)
3/4/5 January 2025 &ndash; Verizon Hall, Philadelphia (Works by Hisaishi)

Joe Hisaishi in Wien

Berlin, am 28. Juni. Deutsche Grammophon ver&ouml;ffentlicht heute Joe Hisaishi in Vienna, das zweite DG-Album des weltbekannten und mehrfach ausgezeichneten japanischen Komponisten, Dirigenten und Pianisten. Die Einspielung erscheint nur zwei Wochen vor seinem Auftritt im Madison Square Garden, wo Hisaishi als erster klassischer Musiker &uuml;berhaupt an drei aufeinanderfolgenden Abenden zu erleben ist. Hier dirigiert er Soundtracks aus Studio-Ghibli-Filmen von Hayao Miyazaki. Mehr als 150 K&uuml;nstler:innen stehen mit ihm auf der B&uuml;hne des ber&uuml;hmten New Yorker Veranstaltungsortes.
Joe Hisaishi in Vienna bringt zwei Weltersteinspielungen zu Geh&ouml;r, die Zweite Symphonie des Komponisten &ndash; einen Livemitschnitt mit den Wiener Symphonikern seines trimphalen Deb&uuml;ts auf dem Podium des Wiener Musikvereins im M&auml;rz 2023 (das Konzert ist auch auf <a href="https://www.stage-plus.com/de/video/vod_concert_APNM8GRFDPHMASJKBSPJ6CO">STAGE+</a> zu erleben) &ndash; sowie seine Viola Saga mit dem renommierten Solisten Antoine Tamestit. Eine Auff&uuml;hrung der Viola Saga, w&auml;hrend der Aufnahmesitzungen im Wiener Konzerthaus gefilmt, feiert am morgigen 29. Juni &nbsp;ihre Videopremiere auf <a href="https://www.stage-plus.com/de/video/live_concert_9HKNCPA3DTN66PBIEHFJCD1G">STAGE+</a>. Das Album ist ab sofort digital, auf CD und als Doppel-LP erh&auml;ltlich.
Joe Hisaishi ist weltweit f&uuml;r seine Filmmusik ber&uuml;hmt, insbesondere f&uuml;r seine Zusammenarbeit mit dem Studio-Ghibli-Sch&ouml;pfer und zweifachen Oscarpreistr&auml;ger Hayao Miyazaki. Gemeinsam realisierten sie Filme wie Spirited Away (Chihiros Reise ins Zauberland), Princess Mononoke (Prinzessin Mononoke) und My Neighbor Totoro (Mein Nachbar Totoro). 2023 wurde Hisaishi f&uuml;r die Filmmusik ihrer letzten Produktion, The Boy and the Heron (Der Junge und der Reiher), f&uuml;r einen Golden Globe nominiert. F&uuml;r sein DG-Deb&uuml;t, A&nbsp;Symphonic Celebration &ndash; Music from the Studio Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki, schrieb er hochgelobte symphonische Arrangements von mehreren dieser Soundtracks und st&uuml;rmte damit weltweit die Charts.
Doch nicht nur seine Filmmusik, auch sein imposanter Katalog zeitgen&ouml;ssischer klassischer Kompositionen genie&szlig;t gro&szlig;es Ansehen. Diese Klangsch&ouml;pfungen sind oft minimalistisch und von den experimentellen Werken seiner Freunde und Kollegen inspiriert, etwa Philip Glass, Steve Reich und Terry Riley. Ebenso entfalten sich darin das reiche musikalische Erbe Japans sowie die klassischen Traditionen des Westens. Joe Hisaishi in Vienna widmet sich dieser Musik.
Die minimalistische Symphonie Nr. 2 nutzt subtile Repetition, doch starke Kontraste in Rhythmus und Orchestertextur variieren die drei S&auml;tze des Werks, in das die Wiener Symphoniker ganz eintauchen. So sehr begeisterte Hisaishi ihr Spiel, dass er sich entschied, den Livemitschnitt des Konzerts aus dem Wiener Musikverein f&uuml;r sein Album zu nehmen. Nur wenige Monate sp&auml;ter kehrte Hisaishi in die &ouml;sterreichische Hauptstadt zur&uuml;ck. Nun wurde sein Bratschenkonzert von 2022 mit demselben Orchester und dem Solisten Antoine Tamestit aufgenommen. Die Viola Saga ist Musik wechselnder Stimmungen und anspruchsvoll, wie geschaffen f&uuml;r den herausragenden franz&ouml;sischen Bratschisten, den Hisaishi f&uuml;r seinen farbenreichen Ton und sein au&szlig;ergew&ouml;hnliches technisches K&ouml;nnen sch&auml;tzt. Hisaishi und Tamestit haben das Konzert seitdem in Macao und Osaka mit gro&szlig;em Erfolg auf die B&uuml;hne gebracht.

Joe Hisaishi, Japan’s Most Influential Composer of Film and Classical Music, Presents his Debut Deutsche Grammophon Album

On 30 March 2023, Deutsche Grammophon announced the signing of an exclusive agreement with Joe Hisaishi, the revered Japanese composer whose work has become synonymous with the magical Studio Ghibli animations of director Hayao Miyazaki. Spanning the full spectrum of Hisaishi&rsquo;s work as composer, conductor and pianist, the deal will deliver a richly varied range of audio and audiovisual recordings. For his first DG album, out today (30 June), Hisaishi has created an exciting series of symphonic arrangements of his original soundtracks for such Ghibli classics as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My neighbor Totoro. Fittingly titled A Symphonic Celebration and made in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer, the album presents state-of-the-art recordings of the extraordinary music of this much-loved artistic force in animated movie-making.
Just weeks before the release of A Symphonic Celebration, the maestro made his debut at the Vienna Musikverein with the Wiener Symphoniker (on 30&nbsp;March, as part of the orchestra&rsquo;s new CINEMA:SOUND concert series). That very special event is now available to stream on DG&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.stage-plus.com/video/vod_concert_APNM8GRFDPHMASJKBSPJ6CO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">STAGE+</a> platform. The label issued a first single from the album on 31&nbsp;March &ndash; a joyful new version of the streaming hit &ldquo;Merry-Go-Round of Life&rdquo; from Studio Ghibli favourite Howl&rsquo;s Moving Castle. Two further singles have followed: beautiful new versions of &ldquo;Mother&rsquo;s Broom&rdquo; and &ldquo;A Town with an Ocean View&rdquo;, both from Kiki&rsquo;s Delivery Service.
Hisaishi ranks among Japan&rsquo;s greatest composers of all time and is famed worldwide for his collaborative work with Oscar-winning director and Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki. Their creative partnership began in 1984 with the post-apocalyptic anime feature Nausica&auml; of the Valley of the Wind and has since developed to the point that they are now likened to other legendary director-composer pairings, including Hitchcock and Herrmann, Fellini and Rota, Leone and Morricone, and Spielberg and Williams. Indeed, Hisaishi&rsquo;s reputation has been secured by the fact that his soundtracks have won eight Japanese Academy Awards, an unprecedented achievement. He is equally acknowledged, however, as a conductor and as a composer of contemporary classical music, much of it minimalistic and experimental in nature, like that of friends and colleagues such as Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Nico Muhly.
Hisaishi&rsquo;s vast catalogue includes over 100 film scores and around 30 studio albums. He has also written compositions for the concert hall, among them symphonies, TRI-AD for large orchestra, The Border, a concerto for three horns and orchestra and, most recently, Viola Saga, premiered in 2022. Furthermore, he has composed and recorded a sequence of Piano Stories, tuneful miniatures that reflect his fascination with minimalism and feeling for vibrant instrumental colours.

Joe Hisaishi, Signs to Deutsche Grammophon and Announces His First DG Album, 'A Symphonic Celebration'

On 30 March 2023, Deutsche Grammophon announced the signing of an exclusive agreement with Joe Hisaishi, the revered Japanese composer whose work has become synonymous with the magical Studio Ghibli animations of director Hayao Miyazaki. Spanning the full spectrum of Hisaishi&rsquo;s work as composer, conductor and pianist, the deal will deliver a richly varied range of audio and audiovisual recordings. For his first DG album, he has created an exciting series of symphonic arrangements of his original soundtracks for such Ghibli classics as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My neighbor Totoro. Fittingly titled A Symphonic Celebration, it presents state-of-the-art recordings of his extraordinary work for this much-loved artistic force in animated movie-making.
In advance of the release of A Symphonic Celebration this summer, the maestro made his debut at the Vienna Musikverein with the Wiener Symphoniker on 30 March (as part of the Wiener Symphoniker&rsquo;s new concert series CINEMA:SOUND), and the label issued a first single from the album on 31&nbsp;March &ndash; a joyful new version of the streaming hit &ldquo;Merry-Go-Round of Life&rdquo; from Studio Ghibli favourite Howl&rsquo;s Moving Castle. Preorders of the album will go live on 14 April, alongside the release of a beautiful new version of &ldquo;Mother&rsquo;s Broom&rdquo; from&nbsp; Kiki&rsquo;s Delivery Service.
&ldquo;I love the fact that Deutsche Grammophon pays special attention to both creativity and sound quality,&rdquo; says Joe Hisaishi. &ldquo;Working with its team of dedicated professionals to conjure new symphonic worlds for classical music-lovers will be a joy.&rdquo;
Hisaishi ranks among Japan&rsquo;s greatest composers of all time and is famed worldwide for his collaborative work with Oscar-winning director and Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki. Their creative partnership began in 1984 with the post-apocalyptic anime feature Nausica&auml; of the Valley of the Wind and has since developed to the point that they are now likened to other legendary director-composer pairings, including Hitchcock and Herrmann, Fellini and Rota, Leone and Morricone, and Spielberg and Williams. Indeed, Hisaishi&rsquo;s reputation has been secured by the fact that his soundtracks have won eight Japanese Academy Awards, an unprecedented achievement. He is equally acknowledged, however, as a conductor and as a composer of contemporary classical music, much of it minimalistic and experimental in nature, like that of friends and colleagues such as Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Nico Muhly.
Universal Music Japan&rsquo;s President/CEO Naoshi Fujikura says, &ldquo;Our work with Joe Hisaishi, an artist with a brilliant career spanning over 40 years and multiple award-winning recordings, has always been a source of pride. We are truly proud to&nbsp;work with our friends at Deutsche Grammophon to bring his captivating scores to an even wider audience worldwide.&rdquo;
Hisaishi&rsquo;s first DG album, A Symphonic Celebration, turns the spotlight on his Studio Ghibli hits. Recorded in London by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer, its tracks are newly arranged by Hisaishi for symphony orchestra.
&ldquo;During our first studio sessions together last summer, Joe Hisaishi enchanted the recording crew and musicians of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with his thorough musicality, conducting authority and friendly manner,&rdquo; recalls Kleopatra Sofroniou, DG&rsquo;s General Manager Classics. &ldquo;We feel honoured to have the opportunity of working with him on future audio and audiovisual productions.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Joe Hisaishi&rsquo;s compositions are a fresh and genuinely original approach to symphonic music that is still rooted in the classical tradition,&rdquo; says&nbsp;Dr Clemens Trautmann,&nbsp;President Deutsche Grammophon. &ldquo;He reaches millions through his scores for the screen and attracts capacity audiences to all the major concert halls around the world. Together with our close partners at Universal Music Japan, we aim to document his irresistible music with signature recordings made by excellent musical partners such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wiener Symphoniker.&rdquo;
Hisaishi&rsquo;s vast catalogue includes over 100 film scores and around 30 studio albums. He also wrote compositions for the concert hall, among them symphonies, TRI-AD for large orchestra, The Border, a concerto for three horns and orchestra and, most recently, Viola Saga, premiered in 2022. Furthermore, he has written and recorded a sequence of Piano Stories, tuneful miniatures that reflect their composer's fascination with minimalism and feeling for vibrant instrumental colours.

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Title

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Joe Hisaishi

THE BOY AND THE HERON Joe Hisaishi

Symphonic Suite The Boy and the Heron for piano and orchestra

Symphonic Suite the Boy and the Heron for piano and orchestra

Internationally acclaimed Japanese composer and conductor Joe Hisaishi&rsquo;s album The Boy and the Heron is a newly reimagined concert work based on his Golden Globe-winning score for Studio Ghibli&rsquo;s Academy Award-winning film of the same name by Hayao Miyazaki.
The project was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and features Hisaishi himself as piano soloist. Rather than simply arranging the original soundtrack, Hisaishi has completely recomposed the music into a standalone symphonic work for the concert hall. Beloved themes from the film are woven into a rich orchestral narrative, creating an atmospheric and emotionally compelling listening experience. The result is an essential release from one of today&rsquo;s most celebrated composers.
Speaking about the process of recomposing his original score, Hisaishi says: &ldquo;I usually create a suite based on a soundtrack in the same year as a film is released. This time I waited a little longer, and then decided to entirely rewrite the music for the concert hall. The Symphonic Suite is therefore a standalone piece, completely independent from the film.&rdquo;
The album is available digitally, on CD and on LP. Order the CD and LP versions in the&nbsp;<a href="https://store.deutschegrammophon.com/de-de/collections/joe-hisaishi">DG Store</a>.

Joe Hisaishi - News | Deutsche Grammophon

News