Joe Hisaishi

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.

Hisaishi’s recent symphonic engagements have seen him conducting the Toronto and Chicago Symphony orchestras, Royal, Helsinki, and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras 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 week-long 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. After a successful debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 2023, Hisaishi returned to Los Angeles Philharmonic for the world premiere of his Harp Concerto, commissioned by the orchestra and performed by their own harpist, Emmanuel Ceysson. 

In 2025, Hisaishi sees debut performances with Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and at the BBC Proms with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra where his work The End of the World is programmed with Steve Reich’s Desert Music. Further ahead in the 25/26 season, Hisiashi returns to Philadelphia, Chicago and Toronto Symphony orchestras, and will premiere his new work Concerto for Orchestra with various high-level partners globally.

Renowned for his long-standing collaboration with Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki, 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, 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, La Defense in Paris, Olympic Hall in Munich and Tokyo Dome over 3 concerts, each with a 40,000-person audience. Autumn 2024 saw a two-day residency at Royal Albert Hall in London for his “Hisaishi Symphonic” live shows which included Princess Mononoke Suite and his Symphony No.2, as well as Britten’s Four Sea Interludes with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  

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. 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 – and his most recent recording Joe Hisaishi Conducts, released in August 2025, includes the music of Reich alongside his The End of the World, a work that explores the “anxiety and chaos” resulting from the collapse of global order and values in the aftermath of 9/11. 

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 premiere 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 the Music Director with Japan Century Symphony Orchestra from the 2025/26 season. Hisaishi was also appointed as Composer-in-Association of Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2024, Composer-in-Residence of Philadelphia Orchestra in October 2025, and Composer-in-Focus of Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2026.