[Emotional BGM] Carefully selected masterpieces and popular tracks recommended for work and study!

Name of Life from Spirited AwayHisaishi Joe

Name of Life (from “Spirited Away”)

Many listeners have surely been captivated by the crystalline piano tones and faintly nostalgic melody.

The theme song of Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece Spirited Away evokes a bittersweet yet warm story of searching for lost memories and one’s true self.

Its message—recalling something precious and finding one’s place—reaches us with quiet emotion.

Released in July 2001 as a single performed by Yumi Kimura, the song deepened the film’s impact.

The piece originally began as an instrumental track on the soundtrack.

Its calm, dreamlike phrasing is perfect for times when you want to focus on work or study.

Letting yourself drift on its gentle waves of sound may calm your heart and clear your mind.

A Town with an Ocean View (from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”)Hisaishi Joe

A Town with an Ocean View (from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”)

This is a piece by Joe Hisaishi with a memorable, hope-filled melody that makes you feel as if a beautiful seaside town is unfolding before your eyes.

The emotions that arise at the moment of taking a new step—expectation mingled with a touch of anxiety—are brilliantly rendered through light, sparkling piano tones.

The piece accompanies the moving scene in the July 1989 film Kiki’s Delivery Service where the protagonist soars over a new town, and it is included on the classic album Kiki’s Delivery Service: Music Collection released the same year.

Its nostalgic yet liberating atmosphere is sure to refresh you when you feel stuck with work or study.

Why not spend a focused, enriching time wrapped in its gentle, forward-looking melody?

On the journey: “Final Fantasy VII Piano Collections”Uematsu Nobuo

On the journey

A piece from the game Final Fantasy VII that conjures up the image of a tranquil town encountered along a grand adventure.

Supervised by composer Nobuo Uematsu, it’s included on the classic album Piano Collections FINAL FANTASY VII, released in May 2004.

The serene atmosphere of the original is accentuated in its solo piano arrangement, whose delicate, faintly nostalgic tones sink deep into the heart.

It’s perfect as background music when you want to focus on work or study—the gentle, lyrical melody will calm your mind without disrupting your thoughts.

Why not spend some fulfilling time wrapped in the fleeting peace the story’s characters must have felt?

ManiacMichael Sembello

Michael Sembello – Maniac

This was the second single released from the soundtrack of the 1983 film Flashdance, and it followed the first single, Flashdance… What a Feeling, to reach No.

1 in the U.S.

The tempo and arrangement are cute—it feels like it could help you work more briskly.

Chariots Of FireVangelis

Vangelis – Chariots Of Fire

This is an instrumental number released by the Greek synthesizer player Vangelis for the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.

Despite being an instrumental, it reached No.

1 in the United States and won the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1982.

It’s often used in sports programs and athlete features, so many of you have probably heard it at least once! Don’t you feel that, as you listen, you’re filled with the courage to overcome your current struggles, no matter how tough they are?

Enigma Variations ~ NimrodEdward Elgar

[Tugan Sokhiev] Edward Elgar: Nimrod, from “Enigma Variations” [Bolshoi]

One of the signature works by British composer Edward Elgar—also known for “Pomp and Circumstance”—is his orchestral set of variations, the Enigma Variations.

The piece is notable for its unique origins: it was inspired by Elgar’s interactions with his friends and grew out of an improvisation.

The Ninth Variation, dedicated to deep friendship, begins with a quiet string harmony and gradually builds to a grand emotional climax that deeply moves listeners.

This solemn and beautiful melody has been cherished as music emblematic of ceremony and visual storytelling, having been performed at the 1997 funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and quoted in the film Dunkirk.

Its dignified, reverent tone makes it an ideal choice for focused work or as calming nighttime background music.

Sometimes, a tale from long ago — from Porco RossoKatō Tokiko

Sometimes, a tale from long ago — from Porco Rosso

This is a work written and composed by Tokiko Kato herself, whose warm yet faintly bittersweet worldview evokes a deep nostalgia for days of youth gone by.

As it searches for an unseen future, it conjures scenes of passionate conversations with friends—memories many listeners will find echoing their own.

The song was included on the album “MY STORY / Toki ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi wo,” released in February 1987, and is also known as the ending theme of the 1992 film Porco Rosso.

The piano arrangement used in the film, with its striking timbre, gently lets you linger in the afterglow of the story.

With its calm melody, it’s also great to play as background music when you want to focus on work.