I am currently on a Joe Hisaishi kick and listening through an extensive list of his works. He is easily one of the finest living film composers (top 5 probably).
My top 10 Joe Hisaishi works are the following:
Brother Fireworks Princess Mononoke Giant Deep Sea Creatures Sonatine Spirited Away Kikujiro Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Ponyo Rakuen / Maldives (solo album)
This was hard, I really dig some of his other Kitano scores. I actually find Hisaishi's collaborations with Takeshi Kitano more imaginative and more interesting than his more popular and acclaimed work with Hayao Miyazaki in general. I tend to prefer Hisaishi in his minimalistic/jazzy/ambient mode rather than his usual more grand romantic writing, although there are exceptions.
Rakuen / Maldives is an excellent mood album and it is probably my favourite solo album of his.
Ok, my list of "Top 10" Hisaishi but i love much more of his music
1 - Princess Mononoke Symphonic Suite 2 - Howl's Moving Castle Image Album 3 - WORKS 1 - (solo album)
4 - Arion Symphonic Suite (unfortunatelly out of print for so many years and there is not any reissue... Very sad....) 5 - Legend: Story of the First King's Four Gods" 6 - Ni No Kuni 7 - Laputa Symphonic Suite 8 - Piano Stories vol. 2 9 - Hana-Bi 10 - Kikujiro
I’m mostly familiar with his work for Studio Ghibli . I love the OST’s. Some of the live concert suites are fantastic too.
My Neighbor Totoro Kiki’s Delivery Service Porco Rosso Ponyo Laputa: Castle in the Sky Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Works much better in the film) Spirited Away Princess Mononoke Arion Venus Wars
And because it's ALWAYS worth repeating and re-sharing with newcomers...Joe Hisaishi in Budokan, a celebration concert of his 25 year-collaboration with Studio Ghibli. Stunning music!
And because it's ALWAYS worth repeating and re-sharing with newcomers...Joe Hisaishi in Budokan, a celebration concert of his 25 year-collaboration with Studio Ghibli. Stunning music!
Thanks for the link! I'm gonna load this on my Apple TV and crank up my stereo system.
Don't forget Cloud on the Slope (Saka No Ue No Kumo). Three part, three CDs, impossible to choose. All the three are symphonic masterworks. So this alone would make three favourite on the list
Of the newer guys, Hisaishi is just about my favorite. Of the Ghibli films I adore Kiki's Delivery Service and Porco Rosso. I don't see one of my favorites listed in this thread and if you can find a copy of it grab it: Little Tom Thumb. I love his score for Buster Keaton's The General - don't think that ever came out on CD.
Of the newer guys, Hisaishi is just about my favorite. Of the Ghibli films I adore Kiki's Delivery Service and Porco Rosso. I don't see one of my favorites listed in this thread and if you can find a copy of it grab it: Little Tom Thumb. I love his score for Buster Keaton's The General - don't think that ever came out on CD.
The General came out as 'Le Mecano De La General Buster Keaton' on mk2 music-8345106302
I'm still not clear on what WATER TRAVELER is exactly (Google avails little aside from info on this particular Hisaishi recording), but man oh man I do love this one as well:
Of the newer guys, Hisaishi is just about my favorite. Of the Ghibli films I adore Kiki's Delivery Service and Porco Rosso. I don't see one of my favorites listed in this thread and if you can find a copy of it grab it: Little Tom Thumb. I love his score for Buster Keaton's The General - don't think that ever came out on CD.
The General came out as 'Le Mecano De La General Buster Keaton' on mk2 music-8345106302
Embarassingly, I only own ONE Hisaishi album -- that is MIRACLE APPLES, and it's in digital file format only. Nothing on CD.
But obviously, I have some scattered tracks on compilations here and there, mostly Miyazaki stuff.
He's one of those composers I've been meaning to sit down and properly explore beyond what I've heard in films and such. So a Top 10 will have to wait a bit.
Hisaishi's collaborations with Miyazaki and Kitano are well known so I'll point you towards another gem Bruce K. mentioned above (and actually it was another post of his some years ago in this forum that led me to hunt down this score and I'm so glad I did - thanks, Bruce! ): LE PETIT POUCET (Tom Thumb).
Also glad that someone - keky - mentioned OKURIBITO (Departures).
Is any one of here familiar with Hisaishi's non-film music concert works? I've got my tickets to the concert in Paris in February and it seems only a fraction of it will be film music. (Which is a pity because I bought my ticket thinking of a great Hisaishi film music concert...)
So far I haven't been really fond of any of my favourite composers' concert works outside of the film music genre. Nor of Morricone, Williams, neither of Horner.
Does Hisaishi write more "listenable", melodic concert works?
Don't forget Cloud on the Slope (Saka No Ue No Kumo). Three part, three CDs, impossible to choose. All the three are symphonic masterworks. So this alone would make three favourite on the list
I also love Okuribito. Unforgettable main theme.
Yes Cloud on the Slope is lovely. Just wish he would have picked a different singer. So many lovely tracks. Another of my favorites that is not mentioned here is Tenchi Meisatsu (????). It is one I come back to regularly. I also really love some of the action tracks on Lady Nobunaga. Almost forgot, A Tale Of Ululu's Wonderful Forest is also lovely.
Nice article Thor - I still have some Hisaishi scores to catch up on. I've heard bits of Children of the Sea which is quite nice. The way his music was described in the article was bang on.
Thanks for the article, Thor! Hisaishi is slowly coming closer to the top of my favourite composer list. But I much prefer his scores to live action movies to his anime scores.
but i love much more of his music 
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