Joe Hisaishi

“Not Many Composers Can Sell Out Arena. Joe Hisaishi can.”
- New York Times, July 2026

Composer in Association: Paris Philharmonie
Composer in Focus: Los Angeles Philharmonic
Composer-in-Residence: Philadelphia Orchestra
Composer-in-Association: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Music Director: Japan Century Symphony Orchestra

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.

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 new work, Concerto for Orchestra in May 2026 with National Symphony Orchestra, and continues to conduct the work with high-level orchestras across the globes including Orchestra de Paris, Iceland, Colorado, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in 26/27 season.

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 13 of the series enjoyed an airing in Tokyo in autumn 2026 and he has also previously travelled with the series to Carnegie Hall, Seattle, and Los Angeles. In 2027, his three Music Future concerts will be hosted and performed by the musicians from Philadelphia Orchestra. Hisaishi holds the Young Composer’s Competition every year to inspire and empower the next generation of composers, with the winning composition making its world premiere at his MUSIC FUTURE concerts.

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.

Renowned for his long-standing collaboration with Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki, Hisaishi has composed scores for Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, amongst others, and has won international awards for his works. Many of these iconic works have been brought to huge live audiences in his recent sold-out performances at Madison Square Garden in New York, La Défense in Paris, the Olympic Hall in Munich, and Tokyo Dome, where he gave three concerts, each attended by an audience of 40,000. His latest Cinema Music Concerts include scores from films directed by Kitano, Obayashi, Dehan and Keaton. He brought this programme to Festival de Nîmes, the Hollywood Bowl, and Radio City Music Hall in summer 2026, as well as the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in autumn 2026.

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, Composer-in-Focus of Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Composer in Association of Paris Philharmonie in 2026.