ABOUT JOE HISAISHI  
Joe Hisaishi, 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. 

His career as a solo artist began with the presentation of MKWAJU in 1981 and the release of his first album, Information, in 1982. Since his debut, Hisaishi has released nearly 40 solo albums. The first CD, A Symphonic Celebration, released by Deutsche Grammophon (June 2023), hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts. 

His body of film work encompasses over 80 Japanese and foreign films. His works have won many awards, including the Annie Award, Hong Kong Film Award, Asian Film Award, and several Japan Academy Film Prizes for Outstanding Achievement in Music. In 2001, he made his debut as a film director with Quartet, for which he also wrote the music. The film was officially invited to the World Competition section of the Montreal World Film Festival. 
 
Hisaishi is also a skilled performer, having been a solo pianist and an orchestra conductor. He was the first Japanese artist to conduct at the Cannes International Film Festival, performing Buster Keaton’s The General. He also has worked with cult directors such as Takeshi Kitano, Nobuhiko Obayashi and Isao Takahata. 
 
Hisaishi has produced the music for 11 films by director Hayao Miyazaki, including My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, and continues to tour the music worldwide through his various productions including the Guinness World Record-breaking triple sold-out Cinema Music Concert at Hollywood Bowl in July 2026.  
 
In July 2004, he assumed the post of first music director of the newly created World Dream Orchestra (W.D.O.) of the New Japan Philharmonic. Starting in September 2014, he worked as a producer and conductor for the “Joe Hisaishi presents MUSIC FUTURE” concerts, which earned him enormous popularity, resulting in several live albums.  

A Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist, Hisaishi has released the albums A Symphonic Celebration and Joe Hisaishi in Vienna. The latter includes his Viola Saga with soloist Antoine Tamestit and Symphony No. 2, recorded during his triumphant conducting debut at Vienna Musikverein. 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. His most recent recording includes his Symphony No. 3, “Metaphysica,” and Harp Concerto featuring celebrated harpist Emmanuel Ceysson.  

Hisaishi’s recent symphonic engagements have seen him conducting the Boston and Chicago Symphony orchestras, the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, Los Angeles, Helsinki, and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras and Wiener Symphoniker. In summer 2025, he made his debut at the BBC Proms with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra where his work The End of the World was programmed with Steve Reich’s Desert Music. He premiered his newest work, Concerto for Orchestra, in May 2026 with the National Symphony Orchestra, and continues to conduct the work with high-level orchestras across the globe including Orchestra de Paris, Iceland, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in 26/27 season.   

Hisaishi is an Invited Professor at Kunitachi College of Music. In 2009, he received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the government of Japan. He served as Artistic Director of Nagano City Arts Center from 2016 to 2018, and Music Partner with the New Japan Philharmonic from 2020 to 2025.  

He was appointed Composer-in-Association of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2024, Composer in Residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra since October 2025 and Compositeur en Resonance at the Paris Philharmonie from the start of 2026/2027 season; and is the Music Director designate of Japan Century Symphony Orchestra, since April 2025.