Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki

Overview

For more than three decades, Hayao Miyzakai has been hailed as the shining star of Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, spinning gorgeous on-screen stories about magical worlds, buses shaped like cats, moving houses, friendly fish and more. No one can tell an enchanting tale like the masterful filmmaker — but, no one can make melodic music to match like Joe Hisaishi.

First collaborating with Miyzakai on 1984's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the composer has provided the score to every one of the director's features since then, spanning everything from My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away to Ponyo and The Wind Rises. That's quite the collection of moving movie music, and it's coming to Melbourne for two nights only with Hisaishi himself at the podium.

It's the latest event in the ever-growing — and awesome — trend that pairs film screenings or compilations of footage with a live orchestra accompaniment, as Star Wars and Harry Potter fans will be well aware. On April 27 and 28, Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki will let the sounds of Ghibli echo through Hamer Hall, with Hisaishi conducting the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. As they play, the concert will match the music to a montage of clips from the likes of Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and the rest of Miyzakai and Hisaishi's shared filmography. 

If you went along to the similar Pixar event last year, then you'll know what you're in for: an ace conductor, ace musicians and ace segments from ace films. The concert is an Australian exclusive and an Australian premiere — not to mention a completely new and immersive way to revisit the flicks you've seen and loved countless times.