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.
Nobu has appeared in concert with leading orchestras worldwide including The Mariinsky Orchestra, Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, and NHK Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Japan Philharmonic, Seattle and Baltimore symphony orchestras, Filarmonica della Scala and Sinfonieorchester Basel under the baton of conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Spivakov, Juanjo Mena and Vasily Petrenko. Nobu’s past appearances as a recitalist have seen him perform at prestigious venues across the world such as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London, Berlin Philharmonie, and Vienna’s Musikverein.
Having been prominently featured in the Tokyo Paralympics opening ceremony in August 2021, Nobu’s 2021/22 season sees him joined by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali for a Far Eastern tour and includes concerto engagements with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Solo recitals include visits to the Wiener Konzerthaus, Birmingham’s Town Hall, and Seattle Symphony Orchestra’s Benaroya Hall, as well as numerous appearances across his native Japan. Earlier seasons have seen Nobu work with Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg under Kent Nagano and NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover under Andrew Manze. He received critical acclaim for his recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Théâtre des Champs Elysées as well as his debut with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
An exclusive recording artist for Avex Classics International, Nobu’s growing album catalogue encompasses the breadth of the piano concerto repertoire. As of the start of the 2021/22 season it includes Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.2 with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov’s Variations on a theme of Paganini under Vasily Petrenko with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 with Yutaka Sado and the BBC Philharmonic, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Nobu has also recorded several recital programmes of Chopin, Mozart, Debussy, and Liszt.
A live DVD recording of Nobu’s 2011 Carnegie Hall recital was named DVD of the Month by Gramophone, as was his latest DVD release, ‘Touching the Sound — The Improbable Journey of Nobuyuki Tsujii’, a documentary film by Peter Rosen.