Joe Hisaishi and Future Orchestra Classics at Suntory Hall
Joe Hisaishi returns to Suntory Hall with a concert that clearly shows how far his present-day career has expanded beyond the film music for which an enormous international audience knows him. FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS Vol.8 takes place on August 25, 2026, in the Main Hall of Suntory Hall in Tokyo, beginning at 19:00. The doors open at 18:15, and alongside Hisaishi as conductor, FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS performs with concertmaster Kaoru Kondo.
The program is short on paper but musically ambitious: Philip Glass and his "Low" Symphony (Symphony No. 1), followed by Hisaishi's new Concerto for Orchestra, which will receive its Japanese premiere on this occasion. This means that the evening is not conceived as a selection of familiar film themes or as a retrospective of Hisaishi's most popular melodies. The focus is on contemporary orchestral music, minimalism, rhythm, and the sound of a large ensemble.
For audiences who primarily associate Hisaishi with the films of Hayao Miyazaki, this is an important distinction. His music for titles such as "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Spirited Away", and "The Boy and the Heron" made him one of the most recognizable film composers of his generation, but FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS shows another side of his work - a composer and conductor deeply connected with minimalism and the contemporary orchestral repertoire.
It is worth securing tickets in good time, especially if the goal is to hear Hisaishi in a program that differs substantially from his large-scale film music concerts.
The program brings together Philip Glass and Hisaishi's latest major composition
The concert opens with Philip Glass: "Low" Symphony, or Symphony No. 1. The work was composed in 1992 and is based on music by David Bowie and Brian Eno from the album "Low". Glass took material from the compositions "Subterraneans", "Some Are", and "Warszawa" and developed it through his own orchestral language. The result is not an orchestral arrangement of a rock album in the usual sense, but an independent three-movement symphony in which Bowie's and Eno's material is transformed through Glass's repeating patterns, gradual changes, and distinctive rhythmic structure.
Glass gives the work a duration of approximately 42 minutes. For audiences who know minimalism primarily through Hisaishi's music, this part of the program offers a good opportunity to hear how a similar interest in repetition, pulse, and gradual transformation can develop within a completely different compositional language.
The connection between the two composers is not accidental. Hisaishi has collaborated with Philip Glass during his career, and he began developing his own musical language precisely through an interest in minimalist music. FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS is conceived as a series in which Hisaishi, from the perspective of a composer, re-examines the classical and contemporary repertoire.
The second part of the confirmed program belongs to his Concerto for Orchestra. The work was created in 2026 as a joint commission from ten orchestras and musical institutions, and it received its world premiere on May 14 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where Hisaishi conducted the National Symphony Orchestra. The Tokyo concert brings its Japanese premiere only a few months later.
What the Concerto for Orchestra brings
Hisaishi structured the composition in five movements. According to his description of the work, the first and third movements emphasize a contemporary rhythmic approach, while the second and fourth give more space to melodic solo passages for individual instruments. The final movement combines those two ideas.
This is an important key to listening. The title "Concerto for Orchestra" does not refer to a traditional concerto in which a single soloist stands opposite the orchestra. The orchestra as a whole assumes the role of protagonist, while individual sections and instruments move into the foreground. In his own explanation, Hisaishi refers to his experience conducting Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra and Reich's "The Desert Music", together with a return to the fundamental ideas of minimalism and an emphasis on the pure movement of sound.
The work lasts approximately 44 minutes. Because of its demanding rhythmic structures and the alternation of orchestral layers, it is a particularly interesting choice for FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS, an ensemble that Hisaishi leads precisely through repertoire in which precision and the energy of collective playing have a major role.
The first performance in Washington took place as part of three concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra. Hisaishi's website recorded a strong audience response and a standing ovation following the premiere. Japanese audiences now have their first opportunity to hear the same large-scale orchestral composition in the composer's home country.
- Conductor: Joe Hisaishi
- Orchestra: FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS
- Concertmaster: Kaoru Kondo
- Program: Philip Glass - "Low" Symphony (Symphony No. 1)
- Program: Joe Hisaishi - Concerto for Orchestra, Japanese premiere
- Venue: Main Hall, Suntory Hall, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo
- Concert begins: 19:00
- Doors open: 18:15
Future Orchestra Classics is not Hisaishi's film concert
FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS was launched in 2019 and from the beginning had a clear idea: Hisaishi, as a composer and conductor, approaches major works of the orchestral repertoire from his own perspective. In earlier editions of the series he conducted, among others, Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert, while in recent years the program has increasingly connected with the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Vol.7 from 2024 is particularly important for understanding what follows at Suntory Hall. Hisaishi and FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS then performed Steve Reich's "The Desert Music" and Hisaishi's orchestral-vocal suite "The End of the World". The concert was recorded at Suntory Hall itself, and the recording was later released as the album "Joe Hisaishi Conducts".
The continuity between Vol.7 and Vol.8 is easy to recognize. Reich's pulsating, layered music is now replaced by Glass, while alongside the work of another major minimalist Hisaishi places his own new orchestral composition. The program therefore resembles a carefully constructed dialogue of compositional ideas more than a conventional greatest-hits concert.
For that reason, visitors should not assume that they will hear "One Summer's Day", "Merry-Go-Round of Life", or other globally recognizable film themes simply because Hisaishi is at the conductor's podium. The confirmed program for FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS Vol.8 lists exclusively Glass's "Low" Symphony and Hisaishi's Concerto for Orchestra.
For admirers of his film work, that difference may be precisely the most interesting part of the evening. The melodicism for which Hisaishi is recognizable here meets more complex rhythm, larger orchestral structures, and ideas that develop on a much broader timescale.
Hisaishi is currently in an exceptionally active compositional phase
The Tokyo concert comes during a period in which Hisaishi is increasingly occupying a place in international classical music as a composer and conductor, rather than only as an author of film scores.
His current release "Symphony No. 3 'Metaphysica' & Harp Concerto" was released on July 24, 2026. On the recording he conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, while Emmanuel Ceysson performs the solo part in the Harp Concerto. The album brings together two of his more recent large-scale orchestral compositions and very clearly demonstrates the direction in which his concert work is moving.
The Harp Concerto explores the harp in a far more energetic and rhythmically pronounced way than the traditional image of the instrument would suggest, while Symphony No. 3 "Metaphysica" develops Hisaishi's idea of the "movement of sound". In that context, the Concerto for Orchestra is not an isolated experiment, but part of a broader phase in which Hisaishi is systematically engaging with the orchestra as an independent compositional medium.
His international recognition nevertheless remains enormous thanks to his film music. The world tour devoted to music from Hayao Miyazaki's films ended in July 2025 with three performances at Tokyo Dome and a total of 130,000 visitors. FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS represents almost the opposite format: instead of a stadium-scale event and a sequence of familiar film themes, audiences enter a concentrated program of contemporary orchestral music in a concert hall designed specifically for acoustic listening.
Seats disappear quickly when interest from film-music audiences meets audiences for classical and contemporary music, making this performance particularly interesting for those who want to discover Hisaishi's work beyond his best-known soundtracks.
Suntory Hall changes the way a program like this is experienced
Suntory Hall is located in the Akasaka ARK Hills complex in Minato. The Main Hall has 2,006 seats and is one of the best-known concert venues in Tokyo. The hall opened in 1986, and its Main Hall was designed in the so-called vineyard configuration, with the audience arranged on terraces around the stage.
Such a layout is not merely visually interesting. Instead of the feeling that the orchestra exists at one end of a large rectangular hall, the audience surrounds the musicians from several directions. Suntory Hall states that this was the first vineyard-type concert hall in Japan.
For a program of Glass and Hisaishi, that characteristic is particularly relevant. Both use repetition, precise rhythmic changes, and the gradual layering of orchestral textures. In a space where individual groups of instruments can be clearly distinguished, small changes within repeating patterns can become just as important as a major melodic culmination.
The acoustics of the Main Hall were designed to retain clarity and richness of sound, while the reverberation time with a full audience is about 2.1 seconds in the mid-frequency range. The hall can therefore provide sufficient space for a large orchestral sound while at the same time preserving details that are important in precisely structured contemporary music.
The stage can be adapted to different orchestral configurations, and movable acoustic reflectors are located above it. Audience members seated to the side of or behind certain parts of the orchestra can gain a different visual perspective from the traditional view from the stalls. Especially in the Concerto for Orchestra, in which different parts of the ensemble become the carriers of the musical action, that feeling of physical proximity to the orchestra can be particularly interesting.
Who will find this concert especially appealing
The most obvious audience is long-time Hisaishi listeners who want to hear what he does outside film music. His melodies from animated films may be the starting point, but the program at Suntory Hall asks for a different way of listening: less anticipation of a familiar motif and more attention to the development of rhythm, color, and structure.
The concert is also a logical choice for admirers of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and minimalism in general. Glass's connection with Bowie and Eno makes "Low" Symphony interesting even for audiences who do not normally follow the classical repertoire, because the boundary between experimental popular music and symphonic language is deliberately blurred here.
A third group consists of visitors who want to see Hisaishi primarily as a conductor. FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS is not a project in which the orchestra is merely accompaniment for a famous composer. The ensemble is the central part of the concept, and Hisaishi guides the musicians through repertoire that demands precision, control of pulse, and rapid response from every section of the orchestra.
For audiences entering contemporary orchestral music for the first time, the program is accessible enough to offer several clear points of orientation: Bowie and Eno in the background of Glass's symphony, Hisaishi's recognizable sense of melody, and the highly physical energy of a large orchestra.
Getting to Suntory Hall and planning the evening
The simplest way to arrive is by Tokyo subway. From Roppongi-itchome Station on the Namboku Line, the hall is approximately a five-minute walk from Exit 3. Another practical option is Tameike-sanno on the Ginza Line, from where it is approximately a seven-minute walk from Exit 13.
The Akasaka Ark Hills bus stop is even closer to the complex. For visitors arriving by car, parking facilities are available in nearby buildings, including ARK Mori Building and ANA InterContinental Tokyo. In densely built central Tokyo, however, public transport removes the need to plan parking after the concert.
The hall is located at 1-13-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, within ARK Hills. Akasaka and neighboring Roppongi belong to the central part of the city, with a large number of restaurants, hotels, and office buildings, making it easy to combine the concert with dinner before the program or a stay in that part of Tokyo after the performance.
For this concert, the doors open at 18:15, 45 minutes before the 19:00 start. Arriving earlier makes sense not only for finding your seat but also because of the layout of Suntory Hall itself, whose Main Hall differs from a conventional venue with a simple division into stalls and balcony.
Preschool children cannot attend this program. The organizers also warn that photographs and video recordings that include audience members may be made in the venue. For visitors who require accessible entry, Suntory Hall offers ramps and an elevator, accessible seating and spaces for wheelchair users, as well as adapted toilets.
- For Roppongi-itchome use Exit 3.
- For Tameike-sanno use Exit 13.
- Plan to arrive before 18:15 if you want to find the entrance and your seat without rushing.
- Do not expect performances of film themes that are not listed in the confirmed program.
- If you require accessible accommodation in the hall, check the available options in advance.
An evening for hearing Hisaishi from a different perspective
The special quality of FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS Vol.8 lies not in the quantity of familiar titles, but in its very clear musical concept. Glass's first symphony begins with Bowie and Eno, but transforms the material into orchestral minimalism. Hisaishi's new Concerto for Orchestra then places the orchestra itself at the center and connects rhythmic movement with more pronounced solo lines for individual instruments.
Suntory Hall is not an accidental backdrop. Hisaishi and FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS have already recorded the previous program in the series here, while the acoustics and vineyard layout of the Main Hall suit music in which it is important to follow the different layers of the orchestra.
The August 25 concert is also the first of two consecutive Tokyo dates for FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS Vol.8 at Suntory Hall. For international visitors planning a trip to Tokyo around Hisaishi's performance, this is an opportunity to hear his new composition in the city where the series has developed much of its identity.
Ticket sales for this event are currently under way. For audiences who want to discover Hisaishi as a contemporary composer, conductor, and artist who is actively building a new orchestral catalogue today, this program offers a much more precise picture of his current work than a concert composed exclusively of familiar film melodies.
Sources:
- Joe Hisaishi - information on FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS Vol.8, performers, program, the Japanese premiere of Concerto for Orchestra, and dates at Suntory Hall
- Joe Hisaishi - description and structure of Concerto for Orchestra, world premiere in Washington, number of movements, and duration of the work
- Joe Hisaishi - biography, development of FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS, film career, and current international work as a composer and conductor
- Joe Hisaishi - information on the previous FUTURE ORCHESTRA CLASSICS program, the recording "Joe Hisaishi Conducts", and the response to the premiere of Concerto for Orchestra
- Deutsche Grammophon - information on the album "Symphony No. 3 'Metaphysica' & Harp Concerto", Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Emmanuel Ceysson
- Philip Glass - information on "Low" Symphony, the work's creation, its connection with the music of David Bowie and Brian Eno, its movements, and duration
- Suntory Hall - information on the Main Hall, capacity, vineyard layout, acoustics, and history of the hall
- Suntory Hall - information on arrival by subway, bus, and car, nearby parking facilities, and accessibility