Joe Hisaishi: Kikujiro Summer

“Summer” is not Joe Hisaishi’s most complex or innovative work, but it may be his most emotionally direct. It captures a universal feeling—the ache of a summer that is both present and already fading—with just a few notes. For anyone who has felt loneliness, then found unexpected kindness, the piece is a small masterpiece. For everyone else, it’s a very pleasant piano tune.