Tamara-Anna Cislowska (Piano)
ABC Classics (4855891)
I first learnt of the Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi (b 1950) via two teenage sons at the time some years back. He was well-known as a composer of “game” music, a genre which has now risen significantly in the music composition world. So much so, that even ABC Classic FM broadcasts a weekly programme, called Screen Sounds, devoted a portion to this genre on its network (hosted by Dan Golding).
That said, Hisaishi is now being hailed as a significant composer of orchestral, solo and film music. On this recording by the acclaimed pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska, favourite tracks taken from Studio Ghibli (a billion-dollar production house for mostly Anime content) are featured here in arrangements for solo piano.
The films from which these tracks derive are directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who is credited for having beautiful landscapes as an inspiration, central to his style. The music, which has been adapted so well for piano solo, is sonorous and luscious. Without even viewing any of the films, one can truly imagine the beauty that is being captured here.
Track titles reveal the vistas conjured up: One Summer’s Day; Mother Sea; The Wind Forest; The Road to the Valley; Confessions in the Moonlight; and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. There are other tracks which, whilst not given a title evocative of nature, are still extraordinary for their imaginative spirit and broad strokes: Merry-Go Round; Fantasia; Innocent; Ashitaka and San; Princess Monotoke; Il porco rosso; and My Neighbour Totoro.
Romantic in style, these solos, for the most part, have a calmness and serenity to them, as well as lyrical melodies beautifully expressed by Cislowska, who is gifted in instilling soul and character throughout.
I’m certain that this recording will be the trigger for many to explore more fully the music of Hisaishi and the films for which he has become so revered.