Latest news with #Hisaishi
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Joe Hisaishi conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in a No. 17 Phillies jersey. Here's why
PHILADELPHIA -- Is Studio Ghibli's Joe Hisaishi a Max Kepler fan? You might have thought the Japanese composer and conductor was showing solidarity with the recently declared "unhappy" Phillies outfielder when he sprang onto the stage of Marian Anderson Hall for an encore Friday night. He was wearing a Phillies jersey with a "17" and "Hisaishi" on the back. But it turns out the jersey on the 74-year-old Hisaishi was a nod to a different MLB No. 17: Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. Hisaishi was here conducting three concerts of his own music with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he was backstage after Wednesday night's concert icing his conducting (right) shoulder when he mentioned to an orchestra manager that he would soon be leading concerts in a baseball stadium: the 42,000-plus-seat Tokyo Dome. So the orchestra decided to outfit him in Phillies gear with the number of his favorite player on back. These concerts marked Hisaishi's Philadelphia debut, and it was a grand slam, if a delayed one. He was originally scheduled to appear for two shows in January, but postponed because of illness. A third concert was added and the run nearly sold out. The program included his Symphony No. 2 and Viola Saga with orchestra principal violist Choong-Jin Chang as soloist. It was a knowing audience. These works were written for the concert hall rather than the composer's better known habitat on soundtracks to Hayao Miyazaki films like My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky. Still, filmic aspects in both works were abundant enough to suggest a familiar soundscape, and the audience was in Hisaishi's thrall. But the suite from Spirited Away - the 2001 film - was fully transporting. With Hisaishi shuttling back and forth from podium to piano, the performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra was surely among the most polished interpretations this music has ever received. And the most moving. Bruce Springsteen recently said that an album is "a record of who you are and where you were at that moment in your life." It might be impossible to know who Friday night's audience was or where they were in 2001. But for a few at least, the journey back sailed along a path of tears. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
SoraNews24
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
Beautiful covers make Studio Ghibli vinyl soundtracks and image albums look as good as they sound
Gorgeous artwork graces the jackets of LP releases of the work of Ghibli's greatest composer. Some audiophiles insist that vinyl recordings sound better than digital ones. You can make a pretty strong argument, though, that they sound better too, Because of their size and scratchable material, records need jackets, and those jackets can have beautiful artwork. Serving as stunning examples of that are these vinyl records for the anime films of Studio Ghibli, on offer from specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku. There aren't just rectangular croppings of their respective movie posters or DVD covers, either, but artwork specially chosen for the LP jackets. Pictured above is the soundtrack for Princess Mononoke, which comes on two double-sided records containing 33 songs from Jo Hisaishi, the long-collaborating composer behind all of the Ghibli anime music we'll be looking at today, including Spirited Away. The perspective and sense of scale on the 21-song soundtrack's cover makes the bathhouse of the gods look both unsettling and intriguing, which describes the tone of many of the film's scenes. Ghibli's memorable anime architecture is also on display from a fresh angle in the jacket for the 26-piece Howl's Moving Castle soundtrack. Though Hisaishi has composed the scores for just about all of director Hayao Miyazaki's theatrical anime, he worked only one time with Isao Takahata when the late Ghibli co-founder was in the director's chair, making the 37-piece soundtrack for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya a once-in-an-artistic lifetime collaboration between the two. And last, we come to what was supposed to be Miyazaki's last feature-length anime, The Wind Rises, and its 32-piece soundtrack. All of the above soundtracks are two-record sets, although only the Princess Mononoke one uses both sides of both records, with the others using only one side of their second. Meanwhile, the Kiki's Delivery Service Soundtrack Music Collection is a more modestly sized one-disc, 21-piece selection of music from the only anime produced, directed, and written by Miyazaki. And if you want even more beautiful Ghibli record jacket art, it can be found on the covers for the film's 'image albums.' Image albums are what the Japanese music sphere calls musical compositions inspired by the setting, story, and characters of an animated work, but which aren't heard within the anime itself. In the case of the Kik's Delivery Service image album above, for example, Hisaishi's aim was to recreate the feeling of how Miyazaki described the setting to him, 'A vaguely European town, somewhere near the Mediterranean sea,' in musical form, in much the same way that the beautiful cover artwork of Kiki getting ready to depart her parent's house isn't taken directly from the film. That same philosophy is behind the image albums for Spirited Away , Howl's Moving Castle , and Princess Monoke . Each of the image albums are single-record, with 10 pieces of music and priced at 4,180 yen (US$29), as is the Kiki's Delivery Service Soundtrack Music Collection , while the two record soundtracks are 5,280 yen. Several of them were sold out and unavailable until recently, but they're all restocked and can be ordered through the Donguri Kyowakoku online store here. Source: Donguri Kyowakoku Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
World-Renowned Composer Joe Hisaishi Returns for Spectacular Collaboration with Singapore Symphony Orchestra
SINGAPORE, April 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Esteemed composer and conductor Joe Hisaishi will return to Singapore on July 3–4, 2025, at The Esplanade Concert Hall for an extraordinary evening of music in collaboration with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). Presented by Willow Arts, this landmark reunites Hisaishi with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), marking their third highly anticipated partnership, this exceptional event promises audiences a remarkable blend of musical brilliance and cinematic magic. The concert will feature the World Premiere of Hisaishi's "Symphonic Suite The Boy and the Heron," offering an unprecedented symphonic interpretation of the score from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's latest masterpiece. Additionally, the performance will showcase the Asia Premiere of Joe Hisaishi's Harp Concerto, an extraordinary composition co-commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra alongside prominent orchestras from France and the United States. Emmanuel Ceysson, the acclaimed principal harpist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, joins the ensemble as soloist for the Harp Concerto. Renowned for his exceptional artistry, Ceysson's performance is set to illuminate this groundbreaking musical experience. Complementing these premieres, the evening's diverse repertoire also includes Igor Stravinsky's captivating Firebird Ballet Suite (1945) and Arturo Márquez's exhilarating Danzón No. 2, further enriching this celebration of orchestral music. Music lovers are invited not to miss this unforgettable night of cultural and artistic celebration, merging the worlds of orchestral performance, cinematic storytelling, and virtuosic talent. Ticket Sales begin on April 7, 2025, exclusively on SISTIC. Audiences are encouraged to book early to experience this once-in-a-lifetime musical spectacle. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Willow Arts Sign in to access your portfolio
