Japanese composer and musical director Joe Hisaishi is to open the Tainan Arts Festival this year with a concert on Feb. 26, the city’s Cultural Affairs Bureau said yesterday.
The 64-year-old Hisaishi, best known for composing the scores of many of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated works, will collaborate with the National Symphony Orchestra in the “Maestro of the Century — Joe Hisaishi” concert at the Tainan Cultural Center.
The musicians will play RASEN for string orchestra, Castle in the Sky from the animated film of the same name, La Pioggia from the film Shigure no ki (Diary of Early Winter Shower) and One Summer’s Day from Spirited Away, the bureau said.
They will also perform Hisaishi’s Oriental Wind for orchestra, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47.
In May last year, Hisaishi’s indoor concert and live outdoor screenings in Tainan were billed as one of the largest classical concerts ever held in the city, attracting more than 10,000 people.
He is also scheduled to perform at the National Concert Hall in Taipei on Feb. 25.
The 2015 Tainan Arts Festival will feature music, drama and dance shows by more than 20 groups from Taiwan and abroad, including the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra and EX-Theatre Asia.
The festival will take place from Feb. 26 to June 21 at various venues across Tainan.
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