What a spellbinding evening it was - Nobuyuki Tsujii’s pianism grabbed the audience’s heart from the first note of the Adagio of Moonlight Sonata and held it firmly throughout the entire evening, leaving a vivid imprint on our memory. How do we even describe this experience – his playing was freshly original and packed with discoveries. How could he play this Sonata, which is just about the most played and known piano piece in the classic repertoire, and move the audience, like as if we’d never heard it before? How could the Liszt Consolation be played with such articulation yet come across as nothing other than the simplest beauty?
Liszt’s Années de pèlerigage ‘Venezia e Napoli’ was a perfect example of Nobu’s ability that has been labelled as the “definition of virtuosity”, showcasing all manner of pianistic devices and bravura without being remotely mechanical, but dotted with sparkling sound jewels.
How could we resist drifting away in a dream with the sweetest melody of Ravel’s Pavane, played with the utmost delicate touch? And finally, the ridiculously fun, swinging, stylish and monstrously technical Kapustin’s Eight Etudes sealed the show with the highest peak.
It is true, his pianism possessed undeniable magnetism which fixed our focus throughout; every detail, voice, melody and accompanying passage sparkled.
Nobu himself was the humblest human being. This is a man who can fill the 18,000 seat Hollywood Bowl yet was thankful to our audience for giving him non-stop enthusiasm and positive vibes.
We were delighted to find an article written by Nobu on his own website - you can find the original (in Japanese), and his team's photographs, here: https://avex.jp/tsujii/photo/detail.php?photo_group_id=1000621
This is our translation of his article:
"After performing in Liverpool, we headed to Woking, Surrey. I heard that Woking is a suburban town from where many people commute to London. It is only about half-an-hour train ride to London Waterloo.
This performance was part of the Soirées at Breinton recital series. The promoters (Kumi and Lionel Smith-Gordon) open up their own residential home to the audience, and it is here that all their recitals take place. The audience is strictly limited to 50. I once played to a crowd of 100 in Kawaguchi-ko, Japan, but this was even smaller! The intimate distance between the performer and audience meant I would even be able to sense everyone’s movement and breathing, which initially made me a bit nervous. However, in this recital I found myself immersed in performing while being united with the audience as one – a feeling I’d never experienced before. I received thunderous and heart-felt applause from right up close. For my encore, I played Debussy’s Clair de Lune and Liszt’s La Campanella.
As the venue was a private home, I used one of their rooms to change and get ready. It was like I was being invited to a friend’s house, but I felt relaxed while getting myself prepared. After the performance, I was able to receive warm comments directly from the audience members. I also had dinner (home-made by the organisers), with their family. The words ‘at home’ literally suite this venue!
I learnt that Soirées at Breinton has organised more than 100 concerts. Their performers include many prominent and celebrated artists as well as talented young musicians. I felt really grateful and reassured by their support of musicians in this unique format."
Described by The Observer as the “definition of virtuosity” Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (Nobu), who has been blind from birth, won the joint Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009 and has gone on to earn an international reputation for the passion and excitement he brings to his live performances.
- Beethoven: Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight’
- Liszt: Consolation in E, S.172 No.2
- Liszt: Années de pèlerinage, S.162
- Ravel: Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn
- Ravel: Pavane pour une infance défunte
- Ravel: Jeux d’eau
- Kapustin: 8 Concert Etudes, Op. 40