Joe Hisaishi, the famed Japanese composer, presented a high-profile and magnificent concert for anime fans at a packed Poly Theater in Beijing last Saturday. It was his first ever concert in China and it was a pity the China Philharmonic Orchestra didn't perform to their usual standard.

 

People may not know Joe Hisaishi but they’re aware of the beautiful soundtracks he wrote for world-known anime director, Hayao Miyazaki's animations, including the Academy Award-winner Spirited Away.

Hisaishi arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to prepare for the concert. Chinese journalists soon found out that he didn’t like to be mentioned in the shadow of Miyazaki. The composer thinks his achievements are more than that. His work for Miyazaki was only a small part of his whole music career which has seen him release 38 albums and original soundtracks. 　　

 

His two other concerts in China will be held in Shanghai on December 15-16. They form part of his Asian tour.

 

China.org.cn, as one of the exclusively invited media to the Beijing concert, attended the show and got some insights. 

 

All the tickets for the show, priced from 80 yuan to 880 yuan, were sold out. Even Hisaishi himself was surprised when he was informed of this great news. In fact the promoters were ready for a box-office disaster which could have caused a 300,000 yuan loss. However, it never happened. Compared with previous classical music concerts held in Beijing, the Joe Hisaishi night was a huge success. Everyone smiled!

 

Those attending the show were younger people in their twenties who love and enjoy Hayao Miyazaki's animations very much. The youngest audience member was just seven. His fans contend that Joe Hisaishi's music perfectly matches the cartoons' theme and scenes. They also find the music inspiring, touching and it reaches to the depths of their hearts. 

 

On various online message boards, many fans posted their reviews and thoughts. They mainly focus on the animation scores rather than Joe Hisaishi's other compositions. This may be a disappointment to the composer who's wanted to prove himself as bigger than the cartoons by composing his own albums such as the most recent Asian X.T.C. and film scores for another famous Japanese director and actor Kitano Takeshi.

Joe Hisaishi spent most of his time conducting the China Philharmonic Orchestra during the show. Sometimes he also sat down and performed piano to join the chorus or just played it solo. It was a pity that the China Philharmonic Orchestra seemed not to be ready for cooperating with the Japanese master, especially the horn performers who failed several times to maintain harmony. But apart from that the concert was perfect.

Besides his famous Japanese compositions, Joe Hisaishi also performed scores from two Chinese films -- A Chinese Tall Tale and The Postmodern Life of My Aunt -- he had worked on to gain wider appeal with the Chinese audience.

In the end, cheers and applause brought the house down after the finale playing of My Neighbor Totoro. This made Joe Hisaishi come back to play one more piano solo -- Ashitaka And San from anime movie Princess Mononoke -- as the encore. Hisaishi never spoke a word to the audience all through the show though he smiled and waved and took bows many times. But his music -- the universal language of beauty, romance and freedom -- said it all.

When Hisaishi left the stage, those in the theater didn't want to leave. They cheered and applauded again and again in hope of bringing Hisaishi back on stage. Somebody even cried. Some expressed a little disappointment that Joe Hisaishi didn't perform the score from Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta, a.k.a Castle in the Sky which is considered by many of his Chinese fans as one of his best works.

(China.org.cn reviewed by Zhang Rui, photos by Li Xiao December 4, 2006)