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 Tenk? 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)
