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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’s acclaimed debut at the Vienna Musikverein in March 2023, Mládí will be released digitally and as a 12-inch EP (on splatter vinyl) to mark Hisaishi’s 74th birthday on 6 December 2024. A taster track will be issued on 24 October.

Written for piano and strings, Mládí sees Hisaishi take on the soloist’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, “Summer”, is taken from the 1999 road movie Kikujiro, “HANA-BI” comes from the 1997 crime thriller of the same name (also released as Fireworks), and the suite ends with the title track from Kitano’s 1996 coming-of-age story “Kids Return”. Borrowed from the title of a wind sextet by Leoš Janáček, Mládí means “youth” in Czech.

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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 Symphonic Celebration – Music from the Studio Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki, was one of last year’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. 2 and Viola Saga, performed by the Wiener Symphoniker (and soloist Antoine Tamestit), conducted by Hisaishi.

Joe Hisaishi – upcoming tour dates:
5/6/7/8 September – Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco (Music from the Studio Ghibli Films)
27/28 September – Sumida Triphony Hall, Tokyo (Works by Dvořák andamp; Brahms)
24 October – The Symphony Hall, Osaka (Works by Reich andamp; Schumann)
14/15/17 November – Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles (Works by Hisaishi andamp; Mussorgsky/Ravel)
23/24 November – Royal Albert Hall, London (Works by Hisaishi andamp; Britten)
3/4/5 January 2025 – Verizon Hall, Philadelphia (Works by Hisaishi)