Joe Hisaishi

Joe Hisaishi has been Japan's foremost composer of film music in the last two decades. Best known for his music for the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Kitano, he is one of my favorite contemporary composers, not only for his mastery of the musical craft and his bold eclecticism, but also for the way the music is perfectly fitted to the image. He is far above, in my opinion, many overrated film composers such as John Williams and James Horner. Here are links to pieces from the many soundtracks he has composed:
Joe Hisaishi meets Kitano Films
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)
Studio Ghibli Songs (#1-4, #16 composed by him)
Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro)
Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind)
Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)
Hauru no Ugoku Shiro Image Image Album (Howl's Moving Castle Image Album)
Hauru no Ugoku Shiro OST (Howl's Moving Castle OST)
Majo no Takkyuubin (Kiki's Delivery Service)
Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta (Castle in the Sky)
Animage Complete Collection

I saw Spirited Away and I emediately fell in love with the main theme 'one summer's day'

This composer is a great inspiration to me.

YES, THANK YOU FOR BUMPING THIS.

I consider this guy the greatest thing in movie music. Fuck the Americans! This is the real deal.

I agree! Joe Hisaishi is just as good as his Hollywood counterparts, if not better than many. Princess Mononoke just kicks ass!

This guy is a genius, he is my idol. His themes are much beter than John Williams's.

Originally Posted by Josek_Yung

This guy is a genius, he is my idol. His themes are much beter than John Williams's.

agree! I personally think one summer's day is one of the best melodies ever!... made me cry

I find his music extremely idiomatic in its orchestration, almost restrictively so, and that's not something I admire.

However, he has a VERY strong sense of melody, and while his idiomatic orchestration rarely changes from film to film, it's a very good orchestration he has.

I prefer his more raucous scoring - "The Stink Spirit," and "Yubaba" in Spirited Away, and "The World of the Dead" in Princess Mononoke - to his sort of jazz-piano stuff, though I really like his "Adagio of Life and Death" from Princess Mononoke.

Originally Posted by Christopher Dunn-Rankin

I find his music extremely idiomatic in its orchestration, almost restrictively so, and that's not something I admire.

Forgive me for my stupidness but how can music be idiomatic? I admit his orchestration is similar in many films but I don't understand what you mean.

But I do like the piano bit in the beginning of "Yubaba".

YOu be craaazy! Joe Hisaishi is probably the most talented working composer alive. Listen to all of Princess Mononoke's soundtrack. No one is touching this guy...well other then Danny Elfman...but thats another story altogether.

Yeah, Joe Hisaishi is definitely my favorite composer. I love a lot of film composers but he is my favorite by far.