Hisaishi wrote the music that half the internet uses to describe the feeling of being alive, and here he is conducting it himself — piano at the front, the Orchestra of St. Luke's behind him and MasterVoices filling the largest indoor theater in the country. The program reaches past the obvious Ghibli hits into his Kitano and Takahata work, which is where the harmonic weirdness lives. A seven-night stand at Radio City is a scale of residency almost no living composer commands.
What to expect
A full orchestral concert in Radio City's 6,000-seat hall, with Hisaishi conducting from the podium and moving to the piano for selected pieces. Choral passages come from MasterVoices. Doors open an hour ahead of the performance and the show runs as a seated concert with an intermission.
Good to know
- Rockefeller Center is directly beneath the hall via the B/D/F/M, and the 1 at 50th Street is a short walk
- Radio City enforces a bag-size policy; a small bag saves time at the door
- Doors open an hour before the performance — worth using to see the Art Deco interior
- Seating runs deep into the mezzanines; the first mezzanine has some of the best sound
- It is a seated orchestral concert, so plan for a quiet room rather than a singalong
- Multiple nights are scheduled, so if one is sold out check the neighboring dates
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Common questions
Will he play the Studio Ghibli music?
Yes. The program centers on Hisaishi's Studio Ghibli scores, plus selections from his Takeshi Kitano and Isao Takahata film work.
Who performs with him?
Hisaishi conducts and plays piano alongside the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the choir MasterVoices.
Are the films screened during the concert?
This is presented as a live orchestral concert rather than a film-with-orchestra screening, with Hisaishi conducting the scores directly.
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