By Eugenie Shin|
Tracing Joe Hisaishi’s historic rise to 3 Guinness World Records, from experimental 1980s synth loops to sold-out stadium shows
As composer Joe Hisaishi took his final bow at Radio City Music Hall on Monday, the roaring standing ovation marked the end of a weeklong residency and the peak of a record-setting summer.
Over seven consecutive nights in Manhattan, the 75-year-old Japanese conductor brought his film scores to sold-out crowds. It was a historic string of arena performances that cemented his place as one of classical music’s biggest global phenomenon.
Hisaishi was officially recognized by Guinness World Records this month with three separate honors — a footprint rarely seen for a classical composer. Following the opening night of his run at Radio City, an adjudicator presented him backstage with certificates for two prior milestones.
The first record he broke was the highest-selling single run for classical music at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and the second was for the most tickets sold by a classical composer during a run at Tokyo Dome.
The final night of his Radio City residency completed the trifecta, earning him the title for the longest consecutive run of performances by a classical composer at the legendary venue.
“I’ve just been taking things one step at a time. At first, I was doing this in Japan, and then when I started doing it around the world, people all over the world accepted it,” Hisaishi commented. “Before I knew it, people were coming to my concerts in numbers that even classical musicians and orchestral performers here probably couldn’t draw.”
The attendance figures for Hisaishi’s recent performances reads more like those of a pop icon than a contemporary orchestral composer; his three-day stint in July at the Hollywood Bowl drew 45,538 attendees, while his Studio Ghibli Film Concert Tour Final at Tokyo Dome amassed 133,453 ticket sales.
At Radio City, Hisaishi conducted the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the MasterVoices choir across 6,000-seat nightly crowds, framed by enchanting visual projections from Hayao Miyazaki classics like Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
A highlight of the residency was, of course, “One Summer’s Day” from the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, where Hisaishi played piano alongside a vocal performance by his daughter, Mai Fujisawa.