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The Cherry Trees bloom in the heart of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii

March 31, 2016, 3:26 pm
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April is here. Cherry blossoms (sakura) are in bloom in Japan (as well as in the U.S. capital, a gift from Japan), and everywhere people go for お花見 (O hanami -- flower viewing).

Image source: commons.wikimedia.org

In his final performance on the Nobuyuki Tsujii 2016 all-Chopin Japan recital tour , Nobu said to his hometown (Tokyo) audience 『桜がほぼ満開の中、お越しいただき…』"You came among the cherries that are almost in full bloom ..."  A blogger who was there wrote about that and shared her thoughts which I found poetic and poignant. I made a rough translation of her blog post to share.  
Please visit the original posting at ==>http://ameblo.jp/fujitanw1701/entry-12145115936.html 

2016年03月31日
March 31, 2016
クラシックの聖地、サントリーホールとほぼ満開の桜。
Classical music Holy Land,  the cherry trees are nearly in full bloom around the Suntory Hall.

辻井伸行さん、ショパンリサイタル最終公演でした。
パパの愛して止まないショパンの曲がたくさん聴けるということもあり、行ってきました。
私的には辻井さんと言えば、神様のカルテ主題歌…なんですけど、
ショパンリサイタルなので、それは聴けないかなと思ってたら、アンコールで演奏してくださいました。
It was Nobuyuki Tsujri's final Chopin recital performance.
There is also the fact that my dad loves Chopin and listens to his music all the time; so,we went.
Speaking privately, I love Mr. Tsujii's "God's medical records" theme song ... and secretly hoped to hear that in the encores.
素敵な時間、素敵な演奏、辻井さんありがとうございました
辻井さんがトークで、
『桜がほぼ満開の中、お越しいただき…』
とおっしゃいました。
It was a nice time, a nice performance, thank you Mr. Tsujii
Mr. Tsujii told us in his talk, "You came among the cherries that are almost in full bloom ..."
辻井さんの中では満開の桜も想像だけのものなのですよね。
辻井さんの心の中ではどんな桜が咲いているのでしょうか。
辻井さん、辻井さんの心に咲いたであろう桜は、ほぼ満開でとても綺麗でしたよ
But Mr. Tsujii can only imagine cherry blossoms in full bloom.
The cherry blossoms bloom in Mr. Tsujii's mind.
The cherry trees that bloom in the heart of Mr. Tsujiiwere in almost full bloom and very beautiful


都会のビルの狭間に咲く夜の桜は、辻井さんの滑らかなピアノ演奏ととてもマッチしてました。
In the evening, the cherry trees blooming in urban Hazama matched very much the smooth piano performance of Mr. Tsujii.

今年度も今日で終わり。
明日から新年度の始まりですね。
明日は午前中仕事のあと、また桜を見に行ってきます
This year ends with today.
It is the beginning of a new fiscal year starting tomorrow.
After work in the morning tomorrow, we are also going to view the cherry blossoms.
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Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Chopin's Op. 10, 2016

April 3, 2016, 10:57 pm
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This month, on April 16, Nobuyuki Tsujii will be in London's Wigmore Hall, playing his first-ever recital in the United Kingdom.  I will be there.

Nobu has had plenty of practice for this all-Chopin recital, having just concluded a tour in Japan late last month.  In his seventeen sold-out recitals on that tour, Nobu opened with 3 waltzes, then the complete set of 12 etudes of Chopin's Op. 10; in the second half, he played all four ballades, followed by three encore pieces.  Given the popularity of Nobu in his homeland, it is no surprise that these performances generated an abundance of enthusiastic comments.

Nobu's London recital program does away with the waltzes.  Instead, he will open with the Op. 10 etudes followed immediately by the four ballades, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION.  The entire performance is expected to last for about 90 minutes.

In 2009, Nobu stunned the audience of the International Cliburn Piano Competition by opening his performance with the complete set of 12 etudes of Chopin's Op. 10.

Comments that came up about the performance include these:

"Chopin advised his students to practice in the dark to improve their techniques, but I bet even he (Chopin) would be stunned."

"I am aghast. This is a man who cannot see and he can dash off twelve of the most challenging pieces for piano, back to back to back. Puts all the rest of us to shame!"

"One word... just WOW. I don't even know what to say. I'm completely breath-taken. Especially the first etude... all those arpeggios...Dang. I have some serious respect for this guy."

"the melody is the left hand here.The amazing arpeggios elaborate harmony..How does he do this one so fast and missing no notes and # three sixhths and the leaps in4# 11 is so beautiful did he play that too.and he has the musicality and a wonderful Chopin style to boot!.god these etudes have been part of my life for almost 35 years now!"

"For me,this Chopin's etude was the best performance in this competition. Especially, the No.1 Etude. The sounds like Milky Way in midnight. Very special !"

"Is this real life???"

"To play the chopin 12 etudes without even looking at the piano keys? As a pianist myself i would say it's impossible!!! Wonder how long it would take to learn those pieces without looking at the score and more importantly the keys... It's absolutely amazing that God had granted him such talent although he was born blind."

"I don't know if this can be verified, but because he's blind, and most likely doesn't care/know about how he projects himself visually, he doesn't have the exaggerated, arms-flying-in-the-air-motions to show off. I assume any gratuitous movement would probably be fatal to his grasp of keyboard geography once he starts playing. It's refreshing to see such a young virtuoso that doesn't turn into a circus act. "

"I gave him a standing ovation in front of my computer."

Fast forward to 2016,  there was a frequent comment about Nobu's just-concluded Chopin recitals in Japan, along this line:
という感じで、エチュードがはじまりました。
エチュードも全曲、「感動のショパン~ヴァン・クライバーン・コンクール・ライヴ」で何度も聴いているけれど、それでもきっと今の辻井氏が弾いたら、だいぶ違うんだろうなあ。。。
全然違うピアニストが弾いてるみたいだったりして（笑） In such a feeling, the Etudes began.
These songs I had heard many times on the "Van Cliburn Competition Live" video, but his playing has changed considerably ... it was like a completely pianist playing (laughs)
 

I have the full set of Chopin's etudes among my music scores, but have not even attempted to try to play them.   Just how difficult are they?  I leave it to the experts.  The most readable analysis of the twelve Op. 10 etudes that I have come across is in this piece:
http://www.ourchopin.com/analysis/etude.html
It explains, for each piece, where  the challenges as well as the allure lie.
And I am always grateful to wikipedia for a great compilation of Chopin's etudes, including an audio of each piece.

I can't wait to hear Nobu's etudes in the Wigmore Hall.  I consider myself extremely lucky to have the opportunity to be there.  How has he changed from his playing at the Cliburn Competition?  Will Nobu, as he did  in Japan, speak to the audience about holding their applause so that he may play the entire 12 etudes in one flow?   We shall find out!

Related articles
Nobuyuki Tsujii at the Wigmore April 16, 2016
Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Chopin's Ballade No. 4
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Nobuyuki Tsujii returns to Liverpool, 2016

April 5, 2016, 10:44 pm
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I don't think I would ever have traveled to Liverpool in 2014, if not for Nobuyuki Tsujii's concerts there.
In November of that year, Nobu made two performances with conductor Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic(RLPO) at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (1,693 seats), in Liverpool, U.K.   I and another Nobu fan were at both, and we spent a happy time in Liverpool.   Nobu's Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 thrilled the audiences who packed the newly renovated hall.

The story continued when the Liverpool Phil and Maestrol Petrenko traveled to Japan in January 2015, and, with Nobu as their soloist, went on a 8-stop Japan tour that was a great success.




Fast forward to 2016 -NOW!  Nobu returns to Liverpool to make two performances of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto with the RLPO and conductor Darrell Ang
Conductor Darrell Ang, image via Internet link

Sadly,  as of today (April 5), I see a lot of unsold tickets, especially for the Friday show.  It seems there hasn't been much publicity about the performances.  Nobu's Wigmore Hall hall recital on April 16, preceding his Liverpool performances, is sold-out (the Wigmore Hall, in London, is a small venue).  Perhaps more seats will be sold as the concerts draw nearer.   It pains me to say this, but a April 12 recital by Chinese pianist Yundi at that same venue is virtual sold out.   On the other hand, I see that a Nigel Kennedy (popular U.K. viiolinist) May 17 performance also has, as yet, lots of unsold seats.

I won't be in Liverpool for Nobu this time -- sorry, Tsujii-san.  But I will keep my eyes on any news, comments, and my finds will be posted on this page.  Please check back.

Related pages
Nobuyuki Tsujii Fall 2014 Europe Tour
Nobuyuki Tsujii Tours with Vasily Petrenko in 2015
Nobuyuki Tsujii - RLPO Japan Tour 2015
Nobuyuki Tsujii & RLPO -- a great success!

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Nobuyuki Tsujii Dresden March 2016 "Mehr Licht" blog review

April 8, 2016, 11:10 am
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Nobuyuki Tsujii toured with the Dresden Philharmonic in GermanyMarch 2-6, 2016.  The tour was a resounding success, with sold-out performances and favorable reviews from Berlin, Cologne Dresden and Munich. But there was no review from Dresden, the home city of the orchestra. This blog post is dated March 7, but I found it a month later (it is now April 8).  The text is preserved below for posterity -- the original German text is displayed in italics; the rough English translation is mine.

Nobuyuki Tsujii in Dresden, March 2016.  Photo source: The Nobuyuki Tsujii official site

The following review was found here:
http://mehrlicht.twoday.net/stories/1022556958/
[mehrLicht, Musik Kultur Dresden  (More light, Music Culture Dresden blog)]

Neue Welten, andere Welten.
Rachmaninow und Dvořák im Albertinum-Konzert der Dresdner Philharmonie
New worlds, other worlds.
Rachmaninoff and Dvorak in Albertinum-concert of the Dresden Philharmonic

Quasi auf der Durchreise konnte man die Dresdner Philharmonie am vergangenen Wochenende im Lichthof im Albertinum erleben - das Orchester befindet sich gerade auf einer kleinen Tour durch Deutschland und hatte bereits Konzerte in den Philharmonien in Berlin und Köln absolviert. Nach dem Gastspiel zu Hause packten die Philharmoniker erneut die Koffer und gastierten am Sonntagabend noch im Gasteig in München. Auf diese Weise bekamen die Konzerte sicher eine andere Atmosphäre als ein übliches, im Probenzentrum am Waldschlößchen vorbereitetes Konzert, und eher ernüchternd-gewohnt dürften die akustischen Begrenzungen des Albertinums nach den Konzerten in Köln und Berlin ausgefallen sein.
In a quasi state of transition, the Dresden Philharmonic performed last weekend in the atrium of the Albertinum - the orchestra is currently on a tour through Germany and concerts had already been held in the orchestra halls in Berlin and Cologne. After the performances at home, the Philharmonic traveled again and made guest appearance on Sunday evening at the Gasteig in Munich.   In this way, the concerts were certainly held in a different atmosphere than the standard and sobering concerts that take place at Waldschlößchen, the acoustic limitations of the Albertinum perhaps paled in comparison to the concerts in Cologne and Berlin.

Dafür aber war aber der Saal in Dresden zweimal komplett ausverkauft. Das dürfte zum einen am Programm gelegen haben, das ausschließlich spätromantische Klassiker enthielt, zum anderen am Solisten des Abends, Nobuyuki Tsujii. Der 27-jährige japanische Pianist, von Geburt an blind, gewann vor sieben Jahren den hochangesehenen Van Cliburn-Wettbewerb und ist seitdem auf den Bühnen der Welt zu Hause. Mit der Philharmonie erarbeitete er das 3. Klavierkonzert d-Moll von Sergej Rachmaninow, das für viele junge Pianisten einen Markstein in der Karriere bildet. Absolut anzuerkennen ist, welch enorme Leistung die Leidenschaft für die Musik bei Tsujii entfacht.
Neverthelessthe hall in Dresden was completely sold out twice. This is likely to be because, on the one hand, the program contains exclusively late romantic classics, and partly due to the soloist of the evening, Nobuyuki Tsujii. The 27 year old Japanese pianist, blind since birth, won seven years ago the prestigious Van Cliburn Competition and has since been on the stages of the world and at home. With the Philharmonic, he performed  the third Piano Concerto in D minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff, which constitutes a milestone in the career of many young pianists.  Tsujii's enormous power and passion for music has been recognized.

Als Zuhörer wurde man sofort wach, weil die Sinne sich viel stärker dahin konzentrierten, wo sie ohnehin bei Musik hingehören - zum Hören selbst. Tsujii arbeitet damit ausschließlich und hatte keine Probleme, dem Orchester zu folgen, auch seine Technik ist beeindruckend.
Interpretatorisch scheint dieser Rachmaninow aber aus einer anderen Welt zu stammen.
Nobuyuki Tsujii hatte für die Themenvorstellung noch eine schöne Gestaltung übrig, näherte sich der komplexen Partitur aber meist mit einer nüchternen, zuweilen mechanisch wirkenden Haltung.
Über eine gewisse Art von Organisation wies seine Interpretation selten hinaus, die differenzierenden Möglichkeiten gerade des Anschlags waren insbesondere in größeren Steigerungsbögen begrenzt.
 Die Ruhe und Konzentration, mit der Tsujii hier die Phrasen ein ums andere Mal anging, spricht jedoch für eine Innigkeit und Verbundenheit mit der Musik, der man sich mit Respekt nähern sollte und die hoffentlich nicht ausschließlich von Agenten im Hintergrund bestimmt wird.
Chefdirigent Michael Sanderling folgte mit den Philharmonikern behutsam, die hier spürbare Konzentrationsleistung verhinderte jedoch manches Freispielen, das erst im dritten Satz besser wurde.
As listener you were immediately awaken to an intensified concentration to listen to him.  Tsujii worked purely and had no problems in following the orchestra, his technique is impressive.  In interpretation, his  Rachmaninov seems to have come from another world.  Nobuyuki Tsujii made a nice designchoice for the thematic presentation; the complex score was approached usually with a sober, sometimes mechanically manner. His interpretation rarely added differentiating possibilities,    the attacks were particularly limited in larger increasing arches.  However, the calm and concentration with which Tsujii applied to the phrases again and again  suggests an intimacy and connectedness with the music, which should be approached with respect and will hopefully not be determined exclusively by agents in the background.  Chief Conductor Michael Sanderling followed cautiously with the Philharmonic, but the tangible power of concentration prevented many free spins, which got better only in the third set.

Gerahmt wurde das Klavierkonzert von zwei Werken von Antonín Dvořák. Die offenherzig-fröhliche Konzertouvertüre "Karneval" ließ Sanderling zu Beginn des Konzertes mit viel Esprit musizieren, die etwas loser gefassten Zügel vom Dirigentenpult sorgten für eine schöne Atmosphäre. Ein Spiel voller Sorgfalt bis in kleinste Details hatte sich Sanderling für die 9. Sinfonie e-Moll "Aus der neuen Welt" aufgehoben und hier gelang sogar der Spagat, Perfektion und frei schwingende Musikalität in den oft gar nicht genau zu bezeichnenden Einklang zu bringen, bei dem ungeahnt im Miteinander große Momente entstehen. Natürlich ist das Englisch-Horn Solo, exzellent vorgetragen von Volker Hanemann als Gast an diesem Pult, hier zu erwähnen, aber von immenser innerer Spannung war auch der Streichersatz des 2. Satzes getragen. Ebenso erfreute man sich am durchweg atmenden und wunderbar ausphrasierendem Zusammenspiel der Holzbläser, und auch die warm tönenden Einsätze des Blechs im piano schienen nahezu vergoldet. Vielleicht hat Tsujii mit seinem Spiel ja eine besondere Sensibilität auch für die Sinfonie hervorgekitzelt - eine solch runde, in den Tempi von Sanderling feinnervig-flüssig angegangene Interpretation dieser so bekannten Sinfonie ließ packende Hörerlebnisse entstehen, somit wahrlich "neue Welten".
[This paragraph is about the rest of the concert -- translation omitted with apology]

Rezensionen mehrLicht - 7. Mrz, 09:38

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Related article:
Nobuyuki Tsujii toured with the Dresden Philharmonic in Germany March 2016
Nobuyuki Tsujii with Dresnden Phil 2016 Reviews
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Nobu's first time in U.K., 2010

April 10, 2016, 9:53 pm
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To mark Nobu's first piano recital in London on April 16 this month, I dug up an old posting
that I made back in 2010, when Nobu set foot in U.K. for his very first time.  I cleaned it up and present it below for a fun and nostalgic read.

Nobu in England (Stoke-on-Trent, also referred to as Hanley) (Friday December 10, 2010)
He was a Big Hit! Read on. And his very successful performance of Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 at the concert was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on January 13, 2011 (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x1ss4) and re-broadcast on February 28, 2011 - see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yyd2m

Photos from this stop:
http://www.nobupiano1988.com/recitalreport/images/lon01.jpg - Nobu in front of the Big Ben in London (shown above, shown via Internet link)
http://www.nobupiano1988.com/recitalreport/images/manchester01.jpg  - frozen tundra on route from London to Manchester, a sign of the snow condition  in Europe that would pose problem for Nobu throughout the rest of his Europe tour that month.
http://www.nobupiano1988.com/recitalreport/images/manchester02.jpg - this one shows Nobu in the BBC Studio in Manchester, recording his Tchakovsky Concerto 1 CD with Yutaka Sado and the BBC Philharmonic the day after the concert.
http://www.talktalk.co.uk/whatson/theatre/ybbcphi1012/bbc-philharmonic/xvichal2/victoria-hall/
BBC Philharmonic at Victoria Hall
OverviewYutaka Sado conducts the ensemble for Smetana's Overture The Battered Bride, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1 and Dvorak's Symphony No 9.
Event details
Cast: BBC Philharmonic, Nobuyuki Tsujii (solist)
Director: Yutaka Sado (cond)
Category: classical
Showing times Dec 10, 8pm
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This post appeared on the Cliburn Foundation's facebook page on Dec. 10, the day of the concert.
Van Cliburn Foundation (poster):  Isn't it grand that on his first visit to the UK Nobuyuki Tsujii gets to perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the BBC Philharmonic? We will be thinking of him tonight as he makes his Victoria Hall debut!
And it refers to the following article.
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Pre-concert Article
An interview appeared on This is Staffordshire the day of the concert
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Pianist-hopes-sparks-fly-UK-debut/article-2991075-detail/article.html
Pianist Hope Sparks Will Fly
Nobuyuki Tsujii is playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 alongside the BBC Philharmonic tonight.
Nobuyuki Tsujii is playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 alongside the BBC Philharmonic tonight.
IF YOU only attend one concert in this season's Stoke-on-Trent Festival, make it tonight's.
Appearing for the first time in the UK, and therefore making his Victoria Hall debut, is Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii.
Born totally blind in 1988, Nobuyuki, or Nobu as he is affectionately known, is fast becoming one of the best pianists of his generation. Tonight, he will perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 alongside the BBC Philharmonic.
"This will be the first time I've ever been to the UK," says Nobu, who was born in Tokyo. "I'm looking forward to coming to Manchester and meeting the orchestra and I'm excited to visit Stoke-on-Trent."
Having listened to stories of how he would sit at the piano aged two and improvise harmonies to his mother's singing, Nobu's musical career began at a very young age.
At five, he found himself performing to a small crowd at a music shop on Saipan Island and the rest, as they say, is history.
"I remember I was in the shop when I heard someone playing the piano. It was actually an automatic piano but I insisted on playing it myself. One of the staff stopped it playing and allowed me to have a go. I played Ballade Pour Adeline by Richard Clayderman and when I finished there was an audience around me applauding and shouting 'bravo.' This was my first public performance and I think it was the turning point in my life."
Tonight, Nobu will present a more challenging work at the Victoria Hall in the form of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. He admits that it will only be the second time he has performed it in public, but believes his fascination with the work will shine through.
He says: "I gave my first public performance of the work in the U.S. back in October, but I've been familiar with the music for a long time, before I was born in fact. My mother says she used to play it for me while she was pregnant and I think it's because of this that I have a true sympathy with the music."
Conducted by Yutaka Sado, the concert will also include Smetna's The Bartered Bride and Dvorak's Symphony No.9 (From the New World).
"Maestro Yutaka Sado has been supporting me for a long period," says Nobu, a multi-award winner. "He is very tall with a big heart and we share a 'hearts on fire' character. I hope to spark in the third movement of the concerto. I also believe he has worked with the BBC Philharmonic regularly and tells me of their great reputation."
The BBC Philharmonic and Nobuyuki Tsujii can be seen at the Victoria Hall, Hanley tonight at 8pm. Tickets cost between £13 and £28.50, available from the box office.
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Postings on BBC's twitter site the day of the concert: http://twitter.com/BBCPhilharmonic
  1. Wow! Nobuyuki Tsujii brought the house down with his UK debut performance here at Victoria Hall. Fantastic pianist and fantastic audience!
  2. From the Cliburn Foundation: Excited that Nobuyuki Tsujii gets to perform tonight with @BBCPhilharmonic on his first-ever visit to the UK!  
  3. Nobuyuki Tsujii, Yutaka Sado and the BBC Philharmonic on stage (in rehearsal) at Victoria Hall, Hanley http://plixi.com/p/62111268
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More good news:
A comment appeared on the aforementioned interview article  that says:
"I heard Nobuyuki Tsujii playing on Friday and his performance was just unbelievable. I and many others were so moved. The public did not stop applauding this fantastic musician. I did not catch the name of the piece which he played as an encore. Would somebody be able to tell me?"  -- Mariet Schepers, Newcastle-under-Lyme, commented on 13-Dec-2010 13:12
Nobu must have really been fantastic.

Furthermore, a fan in Japan says the blog of conductor Sado mentions that the performance will be broadcast in the UK on Christmas Eve.  This led to an exhaustive investigation on the part of me and some Nobu fans, with a great outcome - the concert is to be broadcast on BBC's Afternoon on 3 program, on January 13, 2010.
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And here's a blog post of the concert by someone who was formerly with the BBC: http://notesfrommiddleengland.blogspot.com/2010/12/nobu-fever-hits-hanley.html

NOBU FEVER HITS HANLEY

Saturday, 11 December 2010

Many years ago at a posh do I sat next to a leading light of the West Midlands motor industry (when it still had a little left.) He'd drunk a lot of Scotch whisky with Japanese salarymen and had discovered why they were obsessed with Scotch but couldn't drink more than a glass without falling over.

In the ancient world, he pointed out, there were only two ways of making water safe to drink; to boil it, or use alcohol to kill the germs. The West had gone for the beer option, and built up a resistance to booze over the generations (though you'd be hard put to believe that in Hanley on a Saturday night); the Japanese had gone for tea, and therefore just couldn't take their drink.

I quote this story simply to reveal just how fascinated we are but how little we know about this modern, rich, democratic society which has almost nothing in common with America or Europe.

As well as strangely cruel TV game shows, it apparently has a large, thriving scene of western classical music, for instance; but the leading label, Avex Classics, in spite of its English name (derived from Audio Visual Experts) doesn't seem to be for sale in Britain.

This may explain why I've never heard of conductor Yutaka Sado, who has an exclusive recording agreement with this label, and pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, who has made several recordings for it. However, Nobuyuki -- Nobu to his friends and fans, apparently -- has the status of a rock star in Japan; Time magazine called his acclaim "Nobu fever." His website is http://www.nobupiano1988.com/english/index.html.

We should be very honoured, then, that Nobu's first performance in the UK was last night at the Victoria Hall in Hanley, with the BBC Philharmonic. He played Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto with a great deal of finesse, always rhythmically alert, and highly responsive to orchestral dialogue, but with surprisingly little barnstorming. It was a fine, considered performance.

At 21, Nobu is quite small and looks younger than his age, but he obviously has fingers more than able to cope with Tchaikovsky's demands. He has a way of swaying his head as he plays which makes him look like he has an antenna for picking up the music from some celestial sound wave.

The audience at the Victoria Hall welcomed his performance with a roar and went on to grant him their ultimate accolade -- foot-stamping. He hugged his mentor Yutaka Sado, whose eyes seemed a little wet. This is nothing; at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where he first came to the notice of western audiences, people leapt to their feet, and jurors were moved to tears

For, inevitably, any performance involving Nobuyuki Tsujii is bound to be an emotional experience. He has been blind from birth.

Nobu went on to play an encore he’d apparently written himself in a sort of crossover style, which I found less welcome (why not Gershwin if that‘s the sort of stuff he wants to play?)

Let's pass on to the rest of the concert. Yutaka Sado apparently conducts regularly in Europe, and is principal conductor of the Orchestra Lamoureux in France. But what's more remarkable is that he was once assistant to no less a person than Leonard Bernstein.

It obviously made an impression, for his conducting seems rather similar; big left-arm grabs and a tendency to leap at moments of high excitement. (I see they've issued a DVD of those wonderful old TV lectures Bernstein gave; I must ask Santa.)

He gave us Bedrich Smetana's Bartered Bride overture and Dvorak's ninth symphony -- from the New World. What unites them, of course, is their basis in Czech folk music, and Sado seemed to me to be very alive to the complex rhythms of that background (and rhythm was never far from Bernstein's genius, either.) These were very fine performances, and they allowed the BBC Phil's first class woodwind to show off as well.

I see a Japanese restaurant has opened up in Stoke, a town I never previously suspected of having a Japanese quarter, especially opposite Lidl. I must make an effort to get down there for a bit of raw fish.

Yet another example, I fear, of our failure to understand the Japanese; my gourmet friends tell me there's a lot more to it than that.
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Postscripts 
The very successful performance of Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 at the Hanley concert was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on January 13, 2011 (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x1ss4) and re-broadcast on February 28, 2011 - see http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yyd2m

The Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 recording in Manchester was released by Avex Classicas in a  2011 album


A fan (Miyuki) in Japan provided translation of an amusing paragraph that appeared in the December 19, 2010 entry of the blog of Conductor Yutaka Sado, who performed with Nobu in the December 10 concert in Henley, England:
2010年12月19日 09:30
　先週マンチェスターでの辻井伸行君との演奏会は、物凄い幸福感に包ま れ、奇跡の瞬間に立ち会ったようでした。あの場には、僕らの他にスタッフが二人だけ日本から来ていたのですが、自分達だけこの感動を味わっていいのか？と 思ったそうです。伸君本当に凄いピアニストになりました。ところでこのコンサートは彼の英国デビューだったのですが、実際に演奏会が行われたのはマンチェ スターから車で１時間弱の田舎町だったのです。そのホール、楽屋が監獄のようにレンガの壁で、おまけに伸君が着ていた普段着が横縞のラガーシャツだったも のだから「なんか囚人みたいだ・・」と笑っていたら、なんとこのホール、もともと監獄だったんだそうです！録音も素晴らしい出来栄えで、オーケストラから も絶賛の嵐！録音後は僕の部屋で、大人になった伸君と夜中まで部屋飲み！次の日に僕は日本へ、伸君はヨーロッパツアーの次の公演地ベオグラードへと旅立っ たのでした。
"We had a great feeling of euphoria at the concert in Manchester with Nobuyuki, and it felt like we saw a miracle there. Only two staff members accompanied Nobu-kun and me from Japan, but they thought 'how can we be the only ones who are being moved like this here?'<Editorial: meaning,  we think, that it's too bad that not more Japanese had the opportunity to witness Nobu's triumphant performance.>  Nobu-kun has become such an amazing pianist. It was his UK debut concert, but it actually took place at a venue that is about one hour away by car from Manchester.
The concert hall had a dressing room whose walls were built of bricks just like a prison and Nobu-kun was wearing a rugby shirt that had stripes on it, so we were laughing saying "you look like a prisoner". It turned out that the hall was actually a prison! The recording came out great and Nobu-kun won raves from the orchestra! After the recording was over, I had some drinks with grown-up Nobu-kun in my hotel room until the middle of the night. Then, on the following day, I left for Japan and Nobu-kun left for his next concert venue, Belgrade.
***
In March 2011, Nobuyuki and Yutaka Sado toured Japan with the BBC Philharmonic. In a joint interview that appears in a commemorative program of the tour, Nobu talks about his surprise at the thunderous reaction of the audience at the concert "The audience's thunderous applause sounded like the rumble of the earth,which made me extremely surprised."
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Nobuyuki Tsujii in London, April 2016

April 14, 2016, 8:36 am
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It is spring in London.  The weather is in the 50's (10C), the sky is overcast, but we are lucky to have some sunny weather.  Out on the streets, some people are still wearing long coats and scarves.  
I am here for the debut recital of Nobuyuki Tsujii at the Wigmore Hall, and to take in some operas and ballets.

April 18 
A blog post came up today that mentions the recital:
http://ameblo.jp/annamagdalena/entry-12151374724.html [blog of a frequent concert goer]
 2016-04-18
...
まずは楽しみにしていたウィグモアホールの辻井伸行ショパンリサイタル。
聴衆のほとんどが日本人でちょっと残念でしたが、期待通りの優美な音色でした。
 Nobuyuki Tsujii Chopin recital of Wigmore Hall, which I was looking forward to.
It was a little disappointing that most of the audience was Japanese, but the graceful tone was as I had expected.
柔らかい弱音もさることながら、フォルテも迫力があり、さすが。
ショパンのエチュード、バラード全曲という音大生プログラム。
すっかりショパンの世界に浸りました。
Even more than the soft soft tone,
The forte is impressive, indeed.
Chopin's Etude, ballade.
 I was immersed in the world of Chopin's music.
ペダルをフレーズの変わり目で変えないことが多いのが驚きでした。
音の拡がりが楽しめました。
細かいペダルなどの楽譜の比較はしているのかどうか。
アンコールも全部ショパンかと思いきや、ノクターンの後はラ・カンパネラ、それから自作の東日本大震災の被害者のための曲。熊本大地震の後でタイムリーでした。
I was surprised that he often does not change the pedal at the turn of a phrase.
I was able to enjoy the spread of the sound .
The encore also I thought would be all Chopin, but after a nocturne he also played La Campanella and also a song [that he composed] for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake . It was timely after the Kumamoto earthquake.
 
April 16
TODAY was Nobu's debut U.K. recital at London's Wigmore Hall
Nobu's Wigmore Hall recital is over. It was flawless to my ears. The etudes & ballades #1 & #4 shook my soul. Packed house. Great applause. 3 encores.
Nobu did not break a sweat throughout the performance. Part of that may have to do with the comfortably cool temperature control in the hall. Wigmore hall deserves its reputation: the seats are comfortable (better than the Carnegie), and the acoustics excellent.  The concert program is also outstanding.
I got a hug from Nobu for all his fans. More to come. Please see photos below, also view-able as a Facebook album here.

Below: Nobu with mother Itsuko and a family friend, at a post-recital reception.

Below: Nobu met and greeted his many admirers after the performance.

Below: Nobu with manager Mr. Asano, at the post-concert reception.

Below: The head of Avex Classics International, Mr. Nakashima (center), with Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii (right) and a family friend.

Below: Yours Truly holding up a copy of the concert program, before the doors open for the recital.  The concert program is well written, with a large photo of Nobu on the cover.

Below: Some of the Wigmore Hall staff, who ran the recital flawlessly.  Kudos to them and to the staff of Avex Classics International.

Below: Yours Truly with Nobu -- once more

The three encores that Nobu played were: Chopin's nocturne No. 20 (I was hoping for #8 but thankful just the same), La Campanella and Nobu's own elegy for earthquake victims.  Nobu spoke a little bit before the last encore but did not mention the latest earthquake that devastated Kumamoto.

WHAT OTHERS SAY
A big thanks to BBC Radio 3 for mentioning on their program today (April 16) Nobu's Wigmore Hall recital and his upcoming performances in Liverpool.

辻井伸行ロンドン公演行ってきます！I'm going to Nobuyuki Tsujii's  London show!  -tweet

ピアニスト辻井伸行さんのLondon公演へ。素晴らしいの一言。最後の曲込み上げてパパさんの隣でひっそり涙…。 Wigmore Hallも素敵でした。Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii's  London performances. Awesome. Seated next to my dad, quiet tears welled up during the  last song ....
Wigmore Hall was also nice. - tweet

Such a beautiful recital #NobuyukiTsujii@wigmore_hall I felt so many 'colours' in his music. His performance makes me forget he can't see. - tweet

NobuyukiTsujii played Chopin w beauty/super technique. End w piece dedicated to Tohoku disaster victims  - tweet

Image via Internet link

https://www.instagram.com/p/BETH_EZSm1o/
辻井くんのコンサート感動した〜（ ; ; ）特にエチュードは前半からうるうるしてしまった…プロムスのオケと一緒に演奏も良かったけどピアノだけだとより沁みた😢アンコールも3曲やってくれて…もう感謝しかないです🙏来年も来てくれたら嬉しいな。~ It was an exciting concert of Tsujii kun (;;)
Especially great are the Etudes in the first half ... He was also good playing along with the orchestra at the Proms; and it is more affecting with just the piano.  Also gave us three encore songs ... This is just another thanks and I hope you will come again next year.

https://twitter.com/mmiki88/status/721504149406359552tweet
辻井伸行さんの演奏よすぎた。彼の人柄とかユーモアを感じる場面もあってあったかいコンサートだった。てか客層までよすぎ。そしてチケット破格すぎ。Nobuyuki Tsujii's playing was too good.It was a warm concert andthere was also a scene where I felt his personality and good humor.  Even without much of a customer base [in London].  And the ticket [price] was exceptional too.
終わった。もうめっっっちゃよかった…最後泣いた… [the recital] is over.  It was really good ... I cried at the end.  -tweet 

April 14
This morning I managed to find my way to the Wigmore Hall.   As often, these venerable concert halls are not much to look at in real life. 
Wigmore Hall on Thursday April 14
I was happy to pick up my ticket for the recital.

There was not much fanfare on display in and around the venue for Nobu, except for an entry in the April program posted just outside the entrance to the hall.  Nobu's photo is on column 4 and row 4.
And this sign is meant for Nobu and other performers.
And soon after that, a downpour befitting London.


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Nobuyuki Tsujii in Liverpool, April 2016

April 22, 2016, 11:50 pm
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Nobu performed "Emperor" in Liverpool on April 21 and 22with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (RLPO) and conductor Darrell Ang.
Photo above: Nobu performed at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (1,693 seats) in 2014 -- I was there!  Image source: Liverpool Philharmonic Facebook page
Photo above: Conductor Darrell Ang, image via Internet link
♪April 24
Diane Sharrock of Liverpool U.K. posted on the Nobuyuki Tsujii fans facebook page
Brilliant concert [Liverpool - "Emperor"] , got tickets for my Dad's birthday as it's one of his favourite piano concertos, we both enjoyed it very much, I hope both conductor and pianist visit again in the future!🎹
♪April 22 UK time 7AM
The Nobuyuki Tsujii official site posted a concert report, with two excellent photos

2016年4月21日＆22日（イギリス）
リヴァプール、フィルハーモニック・ホール
2016 April 21 & 22 days (United Kingdom)
Liverpool, PhilharmonicHall
ダレル・アンさん指揮、ロイヤル・リヴァプール・フィルとの共演で、ベートーヴェンのピアノ協奏曲第5番「皇帝」を演奏しました。
With conductor Darrell Ang and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, I played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "emperor".
リヴァプール・フィルとは昨年1月に一緒に日本ツアーを行って以来の再会です。
It was a reunion with the Liverpool Philharmonic since we made a Japan tour together in January last year.
リハーサルの冒頭に紹介されると、オーケストラの皆さんから盛大な拍手を頂き、「皇帝」を一通り弾き終えた時は「ウォー」という歓声も頂いて、歓迎されていることを実感できました。
When I was introduced at the beginning of the rehearsal, I received a round of applause from everyone in the orchestra, and when I  finished playing  the "Emperor"for the first time, I  also received cheers of "Wow."  I could feel that I was welcomed.
演奏会もとてもうまく行き、共に演奏することを心から楽しみました。
アンコールは21日がベートーヴェンの「悲愴」ソナタ第2楽章、22日がリスト：ラ・カンパネラ。  
Concert also went very well; I enjoyed sincerely the playing together.
Encore was the second movement of Beethoven's "Pathetique" on the 21st, and Liszt's La Campanella on the 22nd.

♪April 22 UK time 10:23PMWe heard from Liverpool about the 2nd performance!
Sam Fisher tweeted:
 "Nobuyuki Tsujii played Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto flawlessly tonight! THEN HE PLAYED LA CAMPANELLA FOR HIS ENCORE"
♪April 22 A big thanks to Robin Bloxsidge, a supporter of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, for sharing this with us on the Nobuyuki Tsujii fans facebook page -- he was at the April 21 performance:
"The concert was very enjoyable and Nobu's performance was outstanding as expected! One of the doormen told us that some members of the audience told him that Nobu had made Beethoven fresh and alive for them again. "
Robin also let us know that Nobu "played an encore very beautifully", and it was the 2nd movement of the Pathetique (scroll down to watch a YouTube video of that performance, from Japan), also "Darrell Ang seemed to be very appreciative of his performance."♪April 21 at end of the day, 9 PM U.S. time
The first of Nobu's "Emperor" performance in Liverpool is long over. We have not yet heard anything about the concert. Meanwhile, here is perhaps one reason why Nobu's Wigmore Hall recital received no critic's review: Another Asian pianist, Yundi (Li), happens to be touring U.K. just now, and he performed an All-Chopin recital (the 4 ballades plus all the preludes) at the Royal Festival Hall yesterday-- that recital received reviews from both the Guardian and the Telegraph.
That sound you heard is me pulling out my hairs. Seriously, I often think that Nobu would have received better attention outside Japan if he had not come up at a time when economically Japan is overshadowed by China. (And I am of Chinese descent.)
♪April 21 at end of the day, 10 PM U.S. time
I just heard from Mr. Asano, Nobu's manager, about the first performance in Liverpool: "Greetings from sunny Liverpool. Nobu met very warm welcome from Orchestra at 1st rehearsal, and 1st concert went very well ... The concert hall was pretty well filled, and Nobu met enthusiastic reaction from (the audience)." Isn't that nice? But I had to tell him that it is the next performance (on Friday) where he might see lots of empty seats. 
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Nobuyuki Tsujii in St. Petersburg, April 2016

April 23, 2016, 12:33 am
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On April 20, word came from Nobu's manager about a concert of which I heard nothing till then. That unadvertised  April 25 performance of Nobu with Valery Gergiev in St. Petersburg is part of a "Prokofiev Marathon" celebrating "125 years since the birth of Sergei Prokofiev." As you can see in the slide show currently on the top of this page, starting tomorrow there are back to back performances involving Mr. Gergiev and many soloists including pianists Deniil Trifonov & Denis Matsuev -- almost all Russians. How Nobu gets included (and playing Beethoven yet) is a mystery. But, hey,  Mr. Gergiev can do anything he likes in Russia!!
Nobu and Maestro Gergiev performed the  "Emperor" in Munich last November, and they made a very successful Japan tour in January of this year.  Very recently, Mr. Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre performed in London on April 18, soon after Nobu's Wigmore Hall recital on the 16th.  Perhaps the arrangement was made about the St. Petersburg performance as they crossed paths in London?  In any case, it is wonderful that Mr. Gergiev keeps remembering Nobu, and I think of this invitation as an honor to Nobu.  Bravo and thank you, Maestro Gergiev!
♪ Posted on the Facebook page of the Mariinsky Theatre
Born blind, sensational pianist NOBUYUKI TSUJI is coming back to St. Petersburg!
Here's a clip of Nobuyuki and Valery performing at the White Nights Festival.
‪#‎prokofievmariinsky125‬
Пианист Нобуюки Цудзи присоединяется к Валерию Гергиеву и Мариинскому оркестру, чтобы отметить юбилей Прокофьева!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq_Ysn0MPWc

♪ April 25 10AM St. Petersburg time
Mr. Kawakami very kindly updated his blog, with 4 photos taken in St. Petersburg, where he has met up with Nobu and enjoyed a day together yesterday.
Please read the original posting in Japanese and see all the photos here => http://www.masahiro-kawakami.com/blog/index.php?d=20160425
Below is my rough English translation, with help from Google translate

That  special person [I mentioned at the end of the previous post] is  pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, very active internationally. And he arrived from London the day before, and we were able to join together here in St. Petersburg! Accompanied by Mr. Asano of Avex, who flies around with him all over the world.  Tomorrow evening he will perform in the world-famous Mariinsky theater, performing Beethoven's "Emperor" under the direction of Valery Gergiev.
Yesterday was so-to-speak his day off, and in the afternoon we went to listen to the concert that took place in the Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall together! The concert program at the Mariinsky theater  yesterday afternoon was particularly interesting for piano playing.  After the Prokofiev Symphony No. 3, three piano concertos were performed: Piano Concerto No. 3 (soloist = Daniel Trifonov) ○ Piano Concerto No. 4 (soloist = Sergei Retokin) ○ Piano Concerto No. 5 (soloist = Sergei Babayan ) ￮ Symphony No. 5.  This marathon event celebrates  Prokofiev's 125th anniversary in the Mariinsky Theatre. Three pianists playing was really interesting.  We were seated in the second row from the center of the stage, right in front of the pianist! It was great fun and we could not stop talking about the playing; we listened to the entire concert, which extended to3 hours and 50 minutes. Curtain time was  13:00, ending time was about 16:50.  Mr.  Gergiev,  after this concert, immediately turned to start an opera performance from 17:00, directing that concert through about 21:00 , it was awe inspiring.
Although I enjoyed the concert, it was uncommon to be seated next to Nobu-kun in the audience.   Tomorrow he will perform on the same stage as today's concert at the helm of Mr. Valery Gergiev! I will sincerely support him.  itis a truly very strange feeling being here.

♪ April 24 11PM St. Petersburg time
A lovely note from Mr. Asano:
"We've just had a dinner with Professor Kawakami and his wife. Prof. K. is a pupil of (Nicolai) Kapustin; he speaks fluent Russian, plus several European languages including English, German and French. I am very much grateful for his appearance here. And we 4 thoroughly enjoyed the concert this afternoon."
Let's hope to see a photo of them together.
St. Petersburg, imsage source https://www.ciee.org/study-abroad/russia/st-petersburg/russian-language/


♪ April 24 3PM St. Petersburg time
A Nobu fan alerted me to the latest entry (April 24) in the blog of Mr. Masahiro Kawakami, Nobu's long-time piano teacher. He has been in Russia meeting with composer Nikolai Kapustin, whose music is Mr. K's specialty. It seems Mr. K and his wife have now traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and the last line of his latest post says: "It is the first time that I come to St. Petersburg. Because it is located further north than Moscow, and the days are getting longer as the summer approaches. It is still bright outside even after 8 pm yesterday. Now we are also scheduled to meet here with a special person today!" I bet we know who that person is!

Photo above: Nobu and Mr. Masahiro Kawakami years ago; now they are together in St. Petersburg


♪ April 24 10 AM St. Petersburg time Mr. Asano wrote: "Mariinsky has confirmed Mezzo has wrong information. So, Nobu is one of audience today."


♪ April 24 7:50 AM St. Petersburg time
From St. Petersburg, I just heard from Mr. Asano, Nobu's Manager: "Nobu and I will attend (the April 24) concert as audience, I understand the soloist for PC3 is Mr. Trifonoff, not Nobu. Mariinsky has confirmed that they put comp tickets for us, so I believe Nobu is off the stage."kiki emoticon Ah, well. It's good that Nobu will get to enjoy the luxury of being in the audience, anyway, at the Mariinsky Theatre, shown below. In 2012, Nobu enjoyed attending a performance of the "Swan Lake" ballet there.

♪ April 23Nobu vs. Daniil Trifonov??
Some of the "Prokofiev Marathon" events in Moscow & St. Petersburg are broadcast on Mezzo TV, Russia's Classical Music Channel. I took a look to see if Nobu's concert may be on the broadcast, and came upon something interesting.
The April 24 performance in St. Petersburg, conducted by Valery Gergiev, comprises Prokofiev's Symphony No.4 and Piano concertos no. 3, 4 and 5. Gergiev has performed similar marathon Prokofiev programs often, including last year's BBC Proms, each time with Russian pianists (Daniil Trifonov Sergei Babayan, and Alexei Volodin at the Proms) performing the concertos . Guess who the Mezzo TV listing shows as the pianist for Piano Concerto No. 3? Our Nobu! But guess who the Mariinsky Theater Playbill lists as the pianist for that concerto? Daniil Trifonov.
I suspect this is what happened: Nobu was originally going to play the No. 3. but Trifonov (unexpectedly) became available and so a separate concert on April 25 was (hastily) added for Nobu to play Beethoven's "Emperor" instead, and it doesn't look like that one will be aired on Mezzo.
This is entirely my own speculation.  In any case, Nobu is in good company.
Daniil Trifonov's official website lists the concert on his schedule.  On the other hand, perhaps there is a chance that he is somehow unable to perform and Nobu is tapped for the Prok3 ...



♪ In 2012,  Nobu was invited by Maestro Gergiev to perform in the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, July 2012, where he was a sensation, as recorded in numerous photos posted on EuroArts Music,  Brava TV and The Nobuyuki Tsujii official site, shown below:

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Nobuyuki Tsujii with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe 2016

May 3, 2016, 9:31 am
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On the concert schedule of Nobuyuki Tsujii this fall is  a"Best of Mozart" Japan tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.   
辻井伸行＆ヨーロッパ室内管弦楽団 “極上のモーツァルト”

I have not seen an official poster for the tour as yet, but announcements of individual performances have been trickling in since early 2015, starting with an October 27 Nagoya event of the Tokai TV 2016-17 Super Classic Concerts series.

In my blissful ignorance, I was unaware of the existence of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, but the group's pedigree, as described on wikipedia, is impressive:
"The Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE), established in 1981, is administratively based in London. The orchestra comprises about 60 members coming from across Europe. The players pursue parallel careers as international soloists, members of eminent chamber groups, and as tutors and professors of music. The orchestra ... (has) no single home resident hall and no appointed resident conductor ...   (It has developed) strong relationships with (the late) Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink and the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt, together with Thomas Adès, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Emanuel Ax, Lisa Batiashvili, Joshua Bell, the late Paavo Berglund, Renaud Capuçon and Gautier Capuçon, Isabelle Faust, Janine Jansen, Vladimir Jurowski, Leonidas Kavakos, Radu Lupu, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sakari Oramo, Murray Perahia, Maria João Pires, Sir András Schiff and Rolando Villazon."

On the Japan tour announcements that have come up, no conductor is mentioned. So I have been keeping an eye on just who will pick up the baton for the tour.  The orchestra's site has not yet listed events for the 2016-17 season. A look at the orchestra's 2015-16 calendar shows the following conductors for recent and upcoming performances: Vladimir Jurowski, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bernard Haitink, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla,  Anu Tali and Roger Norrington.

Upon further investigation, I can now answer my own question. According to the orchestra's "2016 Highlights" page:
"October / November: A number of COE players take part in the second edition of the Singapore International Festival of Music at the start of October for a joint orchestra project with the Festival's musicians. An extensive tour of Japan follows, where the whole COE, directed by Leader Lorenza Borrani, perform ten all-Mozart concerts in several cities with pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii."
So, it seems the concertmaster (shown below) will double as conductor on this tour, and 4 more performances (than the six that I have come up with so far) are on the agenda.


Roger Norrington
Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla
Image above: Lorenza Borrani
Bernard Haitink
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Vladimir Jurowski

Following are the 10 performances, as announced on Nobu's Official Site:
  1. October 27 18:45 Aichi Art Center Nagoya,  Mozart's "Coronation" piano concerto No. 26 "Coronation"
    http://tokai-tv.com/events/scc2016tsujii-2/
    Tokai TV 2016-17 Super Classic Concerts series.
  2. October 29コラニー文化ホール（山梨県立県民文化ホール）Korani Culture Hall (Yamanashi Prefectural Culture Hall) concert announcement
  3. October 30 14:00  横浜みなとみらいホール大ホール(神奈川県)Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall Great Hall.  Mozart's piano concerto NO. 26 "Coronation"
    http://www.ints.co.jp/tsujii-europe2016/index.htm
  4. October 31 19:00 アクトシティ浜松 大ホールAct City Hamamatsu Great Hall http://www.hcf.or.jp/hall/detail.php?id=17263
  5. November 2 19:00 山口防府市公会堂 Yamaguchi Hofu City Auditorium
  6. November 3 16:00  宝山ホール (鹿児島県) Baoshan Hall (Kagoshima Prefecture)) Concerto No. 21
    http://ticket.pia.jp/pia/ticketInformation.do?eventCd=1619907&rlsCd=001&lotRlsCd=
  7. November 5 14:00 Osaka Symphony Hall
  8. November 6 14:00 Osaka Symphony Hall
  9. November 7 19:00 東京オペラシティ　コンサートホール：タケミツメモリアル Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall: Takemitsu Memorial Mozart Concerto no. 21 http://www.ints.co.jp/tsujii-europe2016/index.htm
  10.  November 8 19:00 東京オペラシティ　コンサートホール：タケミツメモリアル Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall: Takemitsu Memorial Mozart Piano Concert no. 26 Coronation"http://www.ints.co.jp/tsujii-europe2016/index.htm
More to come. Please check back.
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Nobuyuki Tsujii & Vladimir Ashkenazy in Miyazaki May 7 2016

May 5, 2016, 10:21 am
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Related article: Nobuyuki Tsujii & his "Sensei" Ashkenazy (February 2016)
Nobuyuki Tsujii performs Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Miyazaki International Music Festival Orchestra on May 7 (Saturday) 2016 at 15:00. This page collects news, comments and photos of the event.

♪ May 9
We have a concert report on The Nobuyuki Tsujii official site from Miyazaki! with three excellent photos -- a big thanks to Nobu's dedicated staff!
2016年5月7日（日本）
宮崎県、アイザックスターンホール
宮崎国際音楽祭に招かれて、アシュケナージさんの指揮でラフマニノフ：ピアノ協奏曲第2番を演奏しました。
この音楽祭へは初登場です。アシュケナージさんの指揮はもちろんのこと、音楽祭のオーケストラが実に素晴らしく、最初のリハーサルからコンサート本番まで、一緒に演奏するのが本当に楽しく、充実した体験になりました。
アンコールにはラフマニノフのパガニーニ狂詩曲第18変奏を演奏しました。
May 7, 2016 (Japan)
Miyazaki Prefecture, Isaac Stern Hall
I was invited to the Miyazaki International Music Festival, where I played Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 under the baton of Mr. Ashkenazi:
This is my first appearance is at this music festival. Mr. Ashkenazy's conducting and the music festival orchestra are really wonderfully. From the first rehearsal to the performance, it was really fun to play together, a very fulfilling experience.
The encore I played was the Paganini Rhapsody No. 18 Variation of Rachmaninoff.
Above: Nobu is literally "under the baton" of Maestro Ashkenazy!

Above: Maestro Ashkenazy is still figuring out the best way to guide Nobu ^_^

 [宮崎日日新聞 MIYANICHI ePRESS]
2016/05/08 08:09
超絶演奏を初披露　国際音楽祭にピアニスト辻井さん登場
第 ２１回宮崎国際音楽祭（宮崎県、県立芸術劇場主催）のメインプログラム「アシュケナージ×辻井伸行『憂愁のラフマニノフ』」は７日、宮崎市のメディキット 県民文化センター・アイザックスターンホールで開かれた。同音楽祭初登場となる全盲のピアニスト、辻井さんが、世界的音楽家ウラディーミル・アシュケナー ジさんの指揮でラフマニノフの代表曲を披露。ダイナミックな演奏に、満席の会場から惜しみない拍手が送られた。
A Transcendent Debut Performance --  Pianist Mr. Tsujii appeared in the internationalMusic Festival
Pianist Tsujii appeared in the 21th Miyazaki International Music Festival ( sponsored by Miyazaki Prefecture, Prefectural Arts Theater) in the main program "Ashkenazi × Nobuyuki Tsujii" Rachmaninoff of Melancholy," on the 7th.  It was held in the media kit Prefectural Cultural Center Isaac Stern Hall of Miyazaki.  In the his debut performance at the music  festival, blind pianist Mr. Tsujii showcased music of Rachmaninoff under the leadership of the global musician Vladimir Ashkenazy.  It was a dynamic performance; the packed venue sent its  generous applause.
Photo caption
情熱的な辻井さん（手前）のピアノと、アシュケナージさんの巧みな指揮が聴衆を魅了した、宮崎国際音楽祭の公演「憂愁のラフマニノフ」＝７日午後、メディキット県民文化センター・アイザックスターンホールpassionate piano of Mr. Tsujii (front), skillful leadership of Mr. Ashkenazi captivated audience, Miyazaki International Music Festival performance, "Rachmaninoff of melancholy" = 7 pm, Medikit Prefectural Cultural Center Isaac Stern Hall

Below is the official listing of the performance:
  • 5/7(土) アイザックスタンホール
  • 輝き ふれあい宮崎太陽銀行 75周年記念

    演奏会〔2〕アシュケナージ×辻井伸行「憂愁のラフマニノフ」

    ラフマニノフ：ピアノ協奏曲 第２番 ハ短調 作品18
                         交響曲 第２番 ホ短調 作品27

    指揮：ウラディーミル・アシュケナージ
    ピアノ：辻井伸行
    宮崎国際音楽祭管弦楽団
Wordcame in February 2016  that Nobuyuki Tsujii and Vladimir Ashkenazy would once again appear on stage together in Japan, on May 7 of this year, at the "21st Miyazaki International Music Festival. This marks the first time that they perform together since their 2013 Japan Tour  .  It was a pleasant surprise, since I wasn't expecting their reunion until Nobu's down-under debut with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra this October.

Miyzaki, located in southern most Japan, is a "popular resort destination for Japanese tourists".

Image source: http://www.miyazaki-city.tourism.or.jp/en/ 

Tickets for the Miyazaki concert sold out in no time and was the first of the festival's performances to be declared sold-out.

Image source:  twitter
Below: The performance took place at the Isaac Stern Hall (1818 seats), 宮崎県立芸術劇場 Miyazaki Prefectural Arts Center

Miyasaki Local News
宮崎国際音楽祭　辻井伸行さんが演奏
5月7日 16時37分
　宮崎国際音楽祭、７日は初参加となる盲目のピアニスト、辻井信行さんのコンサートが開かれ、観客を魅了しました。
　 宮崎国際音楽祭のメインプログラムの一つとして開かれた７日のコンサート。辻井信行さんは、ウラディーミル・アシュケナージさんの指揮のもと、ロシアを代 表する作曲家ラフマニノフの曲を演奏しました。辻井さんが奏でる美しい音色が会場に詰めかけた約１７００人の観客を魅了していました。宮崎国際音楽祭は５ 月１５日まで開かれます。
Miyazaki International Music Festival   Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii performed
5:00 May 7 16:37
On the 7th, blind pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii participated in the Miyazaki International Music Festival for the first time
From the beginning of the Nobuyuki Tsujii's concert, the audience was fasciated.
The concert held on the 7th is one of the main events of the Miyazaki International Music Festival.  Nobuyuki Tsujii, under the baton of conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, played a work  of Russian composer Rachmaninov.  The beautiful sound of Mr.  Tsujii's performance attracted about 1700 spectators who packed the venue. The Miyazaki International Music Festival will be held until May 15.

Miyasaki Music Festival Posting
第21回宮崎国際音楽祭
演奏会〔２〕　アシュケナージ×辻井伸行「憂愁のラフマニノフ」
アンコール曲
＜ソリストアンコール曲＞辻井伸行（ピアノ）
ラフマニノフ 作曲
パガニーニの主題による狂詩曲 第18変奏
＜オーケストラアンコール曲＞
ラフマニノフ 作曲
ヴォカリーズ
21th Miyazaki International Music Festival
Concert [2] Ashkenazi × Nobuyuki Tsujii "Rachmaninoff of melancholy"
Encore
<Soloist encore> Nobuyuki Tsujii(piano)
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini variable No. 18
<Orchestra encore>
Rachmaninoff: Vocalise

♪ May 7/8
Following are some post-performance comments:
"宮崎国際音楽祭 ウラジミール アシュケナージ×辻井伸行によるラフマニノフ ピアノ協奏曲第2番。見事な演奏でした！ Miyazaki International Music Festival Vladimir Ashkenazy /
Nobuyuki Tsujii, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. It was a brilliant performance!"-tweet 

高木綾子（フルート奏者） ‏@flute_takagi (flutist who performed in the concert) tweeted
アシュケナージ×辻井伸行
憂愁のラフマニノフ@宮崎
痺れました❗
Ashkenazi × Tsujii, Rachmaninoff of melancholy @ Miyazaki. I am numb!

今 日は指揮アシュケナージ×pf辻井伸行さんのラフマニノフプログラムでした。辻井さんの溢れる温情がホールいっぱいに広がり私も舞台で涙してしまいまし た。素晴らしかった。。そしてやっぱりラフマ良い曲だ✨ 終了後すぐ練習に帰ったから写真撮るの忘れた、、Today's program was conductor Ashkenazi × pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii's Rachmaninoff. Tsujii's gentliness overflowing and drew tears ifrom me and also spread from the stage to fill the hall. It was wonderful.  I was so enthralled by Rachmaninv's music that I forgot to take a photo.  I went home and immediately started practicing on the piano  - tweet

今 日の辻井伸行さんのピアノとても良かった(*^o^*)もっと聴きたいなぁ。オーケストラも久しぶりで気持ち良かった。 帰ろうとしたら夫と息子が近くまで迎えに来てて、合流した時は嬉しかったけど、一気に日常に戻っちゃうから、ほんとは1人で余韻に浸りながら帰るのもいい んだよね  The piano of Mr.  Nobuyuki Tsujii today was excellent.. I want to hear more. Orchestra was also felt good in a long time ... now I am returning to everyday life, but it is good to go home while immersed in the afterglow of one person  -tweet

竹平晃子 ‏@TakehiraAkiko 7h7 hours ago
宮崎国際音楽祭～アシュケナージ×辻井伸行「憂愁のラフマニノフ」～
聴きたかった辻井さんのラフマニノフのピアノ協奏曲２番…もう本当に綺麗でうっとりしました！ラフマニノフのシンフォニーも好きなので…本当に幸せな午後でした(*´ω`*)🎵Miyazaki International Music Festival - Ashkenazi × Nobuyuki Tsujii "Rachmaninoff of melancholy" - I wanted to hear Mr. Tsujii's Piano Concerto No. 2 of Rachmaninoff ... I was entranced; it was really beautiful! I also enjoyed the  symphony of Rachmaninoff  ...  it was a really happy afternoon (*'ω` *) -tweet


昨日は、宮崎国際音楽祭で辻井伸行君のラフマニノフピアノ協奏曲第２番を鑑賞させていただきました♪ 彼の天才ぶりを目のあたりにして、驚天動地の思いをしました♪ 神様の思し召しを実感しました♪ Yesterday we were allowed to watch the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii at the Miyazaki International Music Festival ♪ It was the first time that I witnessed his genius, and it was earth-shattering. I felt the presence of god. -tweet


http://ameblo.jp/motherday1217/entry-12158027466.html
2016-05-07 22:48:45
今日は宮崎市に辻井伸行のピアノを聴きに行きました。なかなか手に入りにくいチケットです。
曲はラフマニノフ ピアノ協奏曲 大2番 ハ短調 そう大輔さんと真央さんのね
そして 同じくラフマニノフ 交響曲第2番 ホ短調
アンコールもラフマニノフ
辻井さんのピアノは音が豊かで 華があるのね。オケとはあんまり融合してなかったけど 聴かせどころは ,゜.:。+゜すごかった,゜.:。+゜
Today, I went tolisten to the piano of Nobuyuki Tsujii in Miyazaki. The tickets were hard to come by.
The work  sounds was Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto large No. 2 in C minor, which of Ms. Mao and Mr. Daisuke [skated to].And also Rachmaninoff's  Symphony No. 2 in E minor
Encores were also Rachmaninoff
Tsujii's piano sounds has arichness andbeauty.  I was seated far and it was not easy to hear the fusion with the orchestra is, °.:. +° It was amazing,°.:
3階席で 泉の水(音）におぼれるような感覚でした。
うちの旦那は
「コンサートやり過ぎ、もっと曲にしっかり向き合時間ももたなきゃ。」と恐ろしく上から目線でしたわ こわいわｗｗ
でも、ピアノを弾く喜びに満ちているその姿は 少年みたいだった。
In my third-floor seat, I was feeling the luxury of sound like a  water fountain.
Husband said, "This concert is an overkill ..." ... But, the figure [on stage] was like a boy who is full of joy to play the piano.
...
♪ May 7

"宮崎国際音楽祭 ウラジミール アシュケナージ×辻井伸行によるラフマニノフ ピアノ協奏曲第2番。見事な演奏でした！ Miyazaki International Music Festival Vladimir Ashkenazy / Nobuyuki Tsujii, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. It was a brilliant performance!"-tweet posted at Japan time 4:08PM


Below are some tweets that came up before the performance 
メディキット県民文化センター ‏@miyazakikengeki (Cultural Center) tweeted:
本日5/7(土)に開催する、第21回宮崎国際音楽祭　メインプログラム　演奏会〔2〕アシュケナージ×辻井伸行「憂愁のラフマニノフ」は、チケット完売のため、当日券販売はございません。予めご了承下さい。... http://fb.me/67oRId8Xr  Today 5/7(Sat), at the Miyazaki International Music Festival, the  main program concert  [2] Ashkenazi× Nobuyuki Tsujii "Rachmaninoff of melancholy" will be held.  Tickets have sold out and there will be no ticket sales on the day. Please note

今日は、辻井伸行さんのコンサートを聞きに行く(^^)
お父さんとお母さんと。
チケットが取れたからプレゼント。　
って、辻井さんなのに、1800円と安い席
宮崎音楽祭に、感謝(^^
Today, I am going to listen to Nobuyuki Tsujii's concert (^^)
Thanks to Dad and mom's gift tickets.
Though for Mr. Tsujii, 1800 yengets us an inexpensive seat
Miyazaki Music Festival, thanks.  -tweet

これから辻井伸行さんとアシュケナージさんのコンサートだよ！
例によってミーハー根性で聴きに来ているので、恥ずかしながらアシュケナージさんの事はほぼ何も知らないよ！シンプルに音楽を楽しめばいいのさ＼(^o^)／Still  to come: Nobuyuki Tsujii and Ashkenazi's concert!  As I came with a group of fans, I am embarrassed that I almost know nothing about Ashkenazy.  I just want to enjoy the music.  -tweet


♪ May 6
Below: Photo posted by 宮崎県立芸術劇場-miyazaki_prefectural_arts_center-, of conductor Ashkenazy rehearsing with Nobu & orchestra.
まずは7日のアシュケナージ指揮の「憂愁のラフマニノフ」。ピアノの辻井伸行さんとの調整もバッチリでした。チケットは完売しておりますので、当日は混雑が予想されます。ご来場予定のみなさまは少しお早めにお越しください。
"First glimpse of Conductor Ashkenazi of "Rachmaninoff of melancholy" on the 7th. Coordination with the piano of Nobuyuki Tsujii is perfect. Tickets have sold out and the day is expected to bring congestion. Please allow for extra time for your arrival."


♪ May6
http://ameblo.jp/ran-matsumoto/entry-12157470997.html [blog of violinist 松本蘭 Ran Matsumoto]
...
宮崎に到着して直ぐには、アシュケナージのリハーサルが２日間ありまして
ラフマニノフのピアノ協奏曲は、ソリストに辻井伸行さん、メインは同じくラフマニノフの交響曲第２番。
なんと、チケットは３０分で完売だそうです。。。
すごい、大人気。
As soon as he arrived in Miyazaki, Mr. Ashkenazi has been rehearsing for 2 days
Piano concerto of Rachmaninoff  with Nobuyuki Tsujii as soloist, and  also Symphony No. 2 ofRachmaninov.
It seems tickets sold out in 30 minutes. . .
Wow, very popular...

…と言いながら、明日も宮崎国際音楽祭行きます\(◡̈)/🎵笑 明日は辻井伸行さんのラフマニノフのコンチェルトが聴けるのです💗 初心者🔰のお母さんは浅田真央ちゃんが好きだからフィギュアの曲が素晴らしい生演奏で聴ける喜び？もあるのかな。 チケットは即完売になった公演。楽しみだなぁ～！
l am going to the Miyazaki International Music Festival tomorrow \ (◡̈) / 🎵Will have fun listening to Rachmaninoff's concerto by Nobuyuki Tsujii.  I am just a beginner. My mom wants to hear the music live; I think because she  likes Mao Asada? Tickets for theperformance became immediately sold out. I'm really looking forward toit! -tweet

♪ May 5
Someone (a Miyazaki resident) posted a video clip on Twitter, a recording of presumably Nobu practicing for his Rach 2 performance, as heard through an exhaust vent!

桒原幹治 K.K.tweeted
排気口から漏れてくる辻井伸行の練習 Nobuyuki Tsujii's practice leaking from the exhaust vent
click to see the video clip here
This brings back an old fond memory: I once spent hours in a stairwell listening to Nobu practice for a Humboldt CA recital. Priceless!


♪ February 20
河野俊嗣 （宮崎県知事） ‏@shunji_kouno (Governor of Miyazaki Prefecture) tweeted
宮崎国際音楽祭、チケットの一般発売を始めたばかりなのですが………早くも演奏会〈2〉が完売！
アシュケナージさんと辻井伸行さんの共演、大変な人気です。...
Miyazaki International Music Festival,
We have just started general sale of tickets, but .........
concert <2> has sold ou early!
Mr. Ashkenazi and Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii's co-star,
Is very popular. ...

The downside of the concert being so popular is that there is no publicity about it in advance.  So let me indulge in a little nostalgia with a couple of photos from the past.

This photo below, which I love, is from a press conference that took place before their 2013 Japan Tour


The fuzzy photo below was snapped by me when I saw Nobu and Maestro Ashkenazy perform in Bristo, U.K., in 2012 (It was my understanding that it's okay to take photo after the performance.) Nobu and Mr. Ashkenazy are about the same height and, instead of taking Nobu by the arm, Mr. A chose to guide Nobu on and off stage in this choo-choo-train fashion.



Let's hope to see some comments and photos from the Miyazaki concert, which will be collected on this page. Please check back.
↧

Nobuyuki Tsujii 2016 Wigmore Hall debut interview

May 5, 2016, 2:41 pm
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This 辻井 伸行 Nobuyuki Tsujii  U.K. interview appeared in the Japanese U.K.  News Digest, May 5 2016 edition. The text of the interview is preserved below, along with a rough English translation by me with help from Google Translate.

Image source: The Nobuyuki Tsujii official site

辻井 伸行  U.K. Interview
http://www.news-digest.co.uk/news/features/15040-tsujii-nobuyuki-interview.html
辻井 伸行 / 諏訪内 晶子 / 庄司 紗矢香 - ウィグモア・ホールで開催されるエイベックス・リサイタル・シリーズに出演
Nobuyuki Tsujii / Akiko Suwanai / Sayaka Shoji - appear in Avex recital series to be held at the Wigmore Hall

ピアニスト 辻井 伸行  Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii
リサイタル・シリーズの先陣を切ったのは、ピアニストの辻井伸行。2013年には世界有数の音楽祭プロムスに出演、ほかにもイギリスの著名オケとの共演をこなしているだけにロンドナーにもおなじみの顔となっている。4月16日に行われたコンサートの数日後にはリヴァプールで名門ロイヤル・リヴァプール・フィルハーモニー管弦楽団と共演。演奏家として多忙な日々を過ごす辻井に、コンサート直前というタイミングで話を聞いた。
ショパンは生涯をかけて取り組みたい
The vanguard of the recital series is pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii. In 2013 he appeared in the Proms, one of the world's leading music festivals, and has become a familiar face to Londoners; he has also been  performing with a number of famous orchestras in U.K.  He played with the prestigious Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in Liverpool a few days after the concert that took place in Wigmore Hall on April 16.  Mr. Tsujii leads a busy daily life.  This interview took place just before the concert.

ショパンは生涯をかけて取り組みたい
Chopin is a Lifetime Dedication

Q: 英国での演奏活動についてお聞かせください。
Please tell us about your performance activities in the UK.
Nobu: イギリスでの初めての演奏は2010年12月、ストーク・オン・トレントでのBBC フィルハーモニックとの演奏会です。佐渡裕さんの指揮で、チャイコフスキーの「ピアノ協奏曲第1番」を演奏しました。その後も同オーケストラとは2011年2月にマンチェスターで共演、3月には日本ツアーを実施。全10回の予定でしたが、5回終えたところで東日本大震災が起きてツアーは中止になり、帰国していくオーケストラと再会を約束して別れました。日本での再会を果たしたのが2013年5月、同年7月にはプロムスにも出演しました。BBCフィルとはほかにも何度も演奏していますし、2012年にウラディミール・アシュケナージさん指揮のフィルハーモニア管弦楽団と、2014年にはヴァシリー・ペトレンコさん指揮でロイヤル・リヴァプール・フィルハーモニー管弦楽団と共演しました。ただ、これまでの演奏会はオーケストラとの共演なので、ソロ・リサイタルは今回が初となります。
My first time playing in the UK in December 2010 was a concert with the BBC Philharmonic in Stoke-on-Trent. Under the direction of Yutaka Sado, I was playing the "Piano Concerto No. 1" of Tchaikovsky.  Then I performed again with  the same orchestra  in Manchester in February 2011 [I was there!].  In March we went on a  Japan tour. We were scheduled for 10 performances, but the tour was disrupted by the Great East Japan Earthquake after 5 performances.  We parted ways; the orchestra returned home and we promised to meet again.   The reunion in Japan happened in May 2013.  I also appeared in the Proms in July of that year.  And since then I played with the BBC Philharmonic many times.  In 2012, I performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the helm of Vladimir Ashkenazy.   In 2014 I co-starred with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Vasily Petrenko's command. However, until now all my concerts have been a soloist for an orchestra; this is my first solo recital in this country.

Q: 2013年にはプロムス・デビューされました。プロムスは通常のコンサートとはひと味違う雰囲気を持っていると思いますが、辻井さんはどのように感じられましたか。
In 2013 you made your Proms debut. The concerts at the Proms are normal concerts with a quirky atmosphere.  How did it feel to Mr. Tsujii?
Nobu: イギリスは、例えばアメリカと比べると、お客様が冷静な感じはしますね。でもプロムスはリラックスして楽しんでいる雰囲気があって良かったですよ。とても広い空間で、たくさんの人がリラックスした気分で楽しんでいる雰囲気を感じました。拍手を含めて、お客様の反応はほかにはない圧倒的なものでした。震災の後ですし、BBCフィルとの共演ということで、こちらも気持ちが入っていました。 Usually in the United Kingdom, when compared with the United States, the audience feels calmer. But at the Proms it was good that there is a relaxing atmosphere of fun.   In a very large space, I felt the atmosphere of a lot of people in a relaxed mood enjoying themselves.  Including the applause,  their reaction was overwhelming .  It was also significant that I was co-starring with the BBC Philharmonic after the earthquake.

Q: 4月16日にはウィグモア・ホールでリサイタルを開催されます。
On  April 16, you will hold a recital at the Wigmore Hall.
Nobu: ウィグモア・ホールは客席で聴いたことはありますが、ステージで演奏するのは初めてなので、とても楽しみです。室内楽のホールとして世界的・歴史的に名高い会場ですから、耳の肥えたお客様がいらっしゃるのかな、と思っています。
I will be playing in the Wigmore Hall for the first time and I am very excited.  Because it is a global and historically famous venue as a hall of chamber music.   I think the customers that come to listen there will have discerning ears.

Q: ウィグモア・ホールで演奏される曲目はいずれもショパンですが、どのようにして決められたのでしょう。
How was it decided that you would play Chopin's music?
Nobu: ショパンは自分にとって生涯をかけて取り組みたい作曲家の一人です。華麗なテクニックと、ロマンティックで美しい音楽が大好きです。初めて挑戦した国際コンクールは、 17歳になったばかりのときのショパン・コンクール。ショパンの母国でショパンを弾きたい、という一心からでした。 今回、このプログラムで1月から日本全国をツアーしてきて、直前にベルリンで録音もしますので、万全の状態でウィグモア・ホールに臨みます。
Chopin is one of the composers that I want to spend my efforts throughout my life.  I love his beautiful romantic music, and the brilliant technique.   My first challenge of international competition was the Chopin Competition when I just turned 17-years old.  I was determined to play Chopin in his home country; I was rather single-minded about that. This particular program I have been playing on a tour in Japan that started in January.  And as I have just been recording the music in Berlin [at the Teldex Studio], I will be facing the Wigmore Hall in a state of perfection.

Q: 同じリサイタル・シリーズという形で演奏される諏訪内晶子さん、庄司紗矢香さんについてはどのような印象をもっていらっしゃいますか。Akiko Suwanai and Sayaka Shoji will also be playing in the same recital series,  what is your impression of them?

A: お二人とも有名な国際コンクールで優勝して、世界的に活躍していらっしゃる方ですね。僕は子供のころにヴァイオリンを習っていたことがありますし、とても尊敬しています。そうした方々と一緒のシリーズで演奏させていただけるのは、とても光栄です。お二人の評判はよく存じていますが、生演奏を聴いたことはありません。僕もぜひ客席で聴きたいのですが、今回は自分の演奏会とぶつかっているのが残念です。ウィグモア・ホールのような素晴らしいホールで聴ける人たちがうらやましいです。
Both of them won famous international competitions and have started to enjoy successes in the world.  As someone who learned to play the violin as a child, I have great respect for them.   I am very honored to be associated in the series with people of such distinction.  I would like to come to listen to them in the audience, but my schedule does not allow it this time.  I am envious of people who will get to listen to them in such a great hall as the Wigmore.

Q: リサイタルの後にはすぐリヴァプールでのコンサートが控えています。このコンサートはどのような経緯で決まったのでしょうか。
This recital will be held just ahead of concerts in Liverpool.  What are the circumstances under which these concerts were decided?
A　コンサートについては、おかげさまで国内外から声をかけていただいていますが、体が一つしかないので、すべてをお引き受けするわけにもいきません。特にオーケストラとの共演となりますと、先方が望む曲と僕が弾ける曲とが一致しないといけませんし。その意味では「ご縁」が大切だな、と思います。リヴァプール・フィルとは以前も共演しましたが、とても幸運でした。イギリスのオーケストラらしく金管が輝かしいのに加え、弦の厚みといい、木管のうまさといい、とても良いオーケストラです。メンバーは、アメリカのような陽気さはありませんが、じんわりと親しさを表現してくれる人たちで、日本ツアーの最後には大きな色紙に全員の寄せ書きをいただいて感激してしまいました。再会が楽しみです。
I am thankful for demands both at home and abroad.  But because there is only one of me, I cannot undertake all of them.   In particular, when performing with an orchestra, the work played has to be mutually agreed upon.    So it is important to have a "connection" in that sense, I think.  I was very lucky to have co-starred with the Liverpool Philharmonic previously.  With the British orchestras, the  brass section is brilliant, and the richness of the strings, the vibrancy of  the woodwinds -- they are very good orchestras.  The members may not be as convivial as in the United States, but the people have a long memory.  At the end of our Japan tour, I was totally thrilled when I got the group effort of everyone [signing] on a piece of large colored paper. [There is a photo of that on the 2015 concert report page of the Nobuyuki Tsujii official site as well as on the blog of Trumpet Mr. Brendan Bell.]  We looked forward to a reunion.
前回共演した首席指揮者のヴァシリー・ペトレンコさんは、とても背が高くて優しい人です。とにかく一瞬ですべてを理解して合わせてくださるので、安心して自由に演奏することができます。今回共演する指揮者のダレル・アンさんとは初対面ですが、とても評判が高い人だとうかがっています。若い人ですし、どんな演奏ができるか、とても楽しみですね。
Last time we performed together under chief conductor Vasily Petrenko, who is a gentle person with very high standard. When we got together, he understood everything in an instant; as a result I was free to play with confidence.  Although this time I am performing with Conductor  Darell Ang for the first time, I have heard about his high reputation.  He is young, and I am looking forward to meeting him.

Q: リヴァプールで演奏されるベートーベンの「皇帝」に対する思いをお聞かせください。
Please let us know your thoughts on the "Emperor" of Beethoven, which is played in Liverpool.
A: スケールが大きくて華やかな第1楽章と、はつらつとして華麗な第3楽章は、いかにもベートーベンらしいですね。「皇帝」というニックネームは後世の人が付けたものだそうですが、よく似合っていると思います。でも、第2楽章の繊細で優しい美しさも僕は大好きで、弾いていて感動してしまいます。
The big first movement is glamorous;  the third movement is perky and brilliant;  I guess it is indeed  typical of Beethoven.  The nickname "Emperor" seems to have been created by people after his death, but I think it fits well.  But it is the delicate and gentle beauty of the second movement that I love, and I am always moved whenever I play it.

Q: 幼少期から音楽に専心されていらっしゃいますが、音楽以外の趣味や楽しみにしていることはありますか。  You have been committed to music since your childhood, but do you have any hobby or fun outside music?
A: 音楽に専心したというよりは、ピアノが楽しくて仕方なかったようです。小さな子供のころはご飯よりも好きだったみたいで、両親は食事のためにピアノを弾くのを中断させようと苦労したそうです。今もピアノを弾くのは楽しみですが、ツアー中はピアノがいつでも手元にあるわけではないので、プールやジムで体を動かして気分転換を心掛けていますし、日本でまとめてオフがとれたら、友人と一緒に自然の豊かな場所へ出掛けたりします。僕は日本食、特にお寿司が大好物ですが、国外に出ると不思議と日本食を食べなくなって、代わりにその土地の旬の食べ物、飲み物をいただくようになりました。日本では出てこないような料理があったり、地元の人たちや外国からの旅行客と思いがけない交流ができたりして、これも楽しい気分転換ですね。
Rather than being devoted to music, the piano has always been fun to me. As a small child I loved it, and my parents seemed to have a hard time trying to get me to leave the piano for a meal.    Even now I always look forward to playing the piano.  When I am on tour, the piano is not always at hand, and I try to keep up my mind with a change of pace by exercising in the pool and the gym.  When I am in Japan, I like to take nature walks with friends.  I love Japanese food, especially sushi, my favorite food.  But when I am overseas I try to eat seasonal food of the land, and drink local beverages.  Sometimes we exchange words with local people and foreigners; it is a fun change of pace.

Q:  EXILEのATSUSHIさんとシングルを共同で制作、NHKの「真田丸紀行」のピアノを担当されるなど、多方面での活躍が目立ちます。
You recorded jointly a single that was produced by EXILE's ATSUSHI, and you were responsible for the piano of NHK's  "Sanadamaru travelogue." You have had conspicuous successes in various fields. 
A:  こうしたお仕事も、タイミングと内容が合わないと実現できませんので、ご縁をいただけることにいつも感謝しています。自分一人の計画や希望だけでできることではありませんが、2020年の東京オリンピックの開会式で演奏させてもらえたら、というのは夢の一つです。そのためにはもっともっと実績を積んでいかねばなりませんね。 
It's all part of my job.  Since the schedule and contents do not always fit, I am always grateful for the connections.  Not that  it is on anyone's plan, but my wish is to be asked to play in the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.  That is one of my dreams, but I will need to gain more and more experience for that.

エイベックス・リサイタル・シリーズ出演者インタビュー
    諏訪内晶子「音楽は、勇気を与えるエネルギーになりうるもの」
    庄司紗矢香「言語は音楽と深く結びついている」
    辻井 伸行「ショパンは生涯をかけて取り組みたい」
This is part of the Avex Recital Series Cast Interviews
    Akiko Suwanai "Music can generate energy and courage."
    Sayaka Shoji "Music is deeply connected with language."
    Nobuyuki Tsujii "Chopin is an effort over a lifetime."
-- end of interview--

Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in Japan, 2015.  Image source: the Nobuyuki Tsujii official site

Related pages:  
Nobuyuki Tsujii interviews
Nobuyuki Tsujii in London, April 16 2016
Nobuyuki Tsujii in Liverpool, April 21,22 2016
2015 RLPO Japan tour, blog posts by Trumpet Brendan Ball 

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Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3

May 19, 2016, 9:50 am
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In past interviews, Nobu has said that he plans to learn at least one new concerto each year.  He has indeed done that since his rise to fame in 2009.

It is now midway in year 2016, and the new concerto that he is rolling out is Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.  3.  I am willing to bet good money that during this quiet month of May, Tsujii-san is busy learning and practicing that monumental work, which he will perform, very soon, on the upcoming (June 7-19) Nobuyuki Tsujii × Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 2016 "Masterpieces of Beethoven" Japan tour and in Minnesota on June 23.
 
Moreover, further down the calendar, Nobu will perform this work in three consecutive performances, in his down-under debut with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House October 20, 21 and 22.

 
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 is not performed often.  It is not one of Beethoven's most popular works and far less known than the other two piano concertos in the Sydney "Askenazy Celebrates Beethoven" cycle: piano concerto no. 5 ("Emperor") and no. 4 (to be performed by pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Jayson Gillham respectively.)   It is long, almost 40 minutes, and to my untrained ears it has no particularly memorable melodies.   BUT after I mentioned that on the Nobuyuki Tsujii International Fans site, I heard from Mr. Nick Asano, Nobu's manager!!
Nobu and I disagree [with] your comments about Beethoven No.3 piano concerto.
Nobu says [the] 1st movement and 3rd movement are characteristic and impressive, I say 2nd movement is full of deep emotion, like a prayer.
To me, as I said, this is the most Beethovenian piece of all 5 concertos.
Try to listen.
Yes, I will certainly open my mind and listen!  (Truth be told, I would do that even if Nobu were playing the phone book :-)

Meanwhile, here is what Beethoven's concerto no. 3 sounds like in the hands of pianist Krystian Zimerman, conductor Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic.

MORE TO COME, PLEASE CHECK BACK.
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Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus -- 2016 tour

May 24, 2016, 12:40 am
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Nobuyuki Tsujii and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra first performed together in 2014, making highly successful tours in the U.S. as well as in Japan. 
In June 2016,  they reunite to once again tour in the two countries.   This page is a collection of news, comments and photos on the 2016 tours.
These are the performances:
June 7 - June 19 
10 performances in Kawasaki, Nagano, Nagoya, Sapporo, Sendai, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Osaka
Nobu will perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Emperor") and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3

June 28 7:30PM
Beethoven's "Emperor" with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
at the Historic Naumburg Bandshell in New York's Central Park.
"Our 111th year of Free Concerts. No tickets issued. 1,000 seats provided on a first come first serve basis. [weather dependent] "
http://naumburgconcerts.org/concert/orpheus-chamber-orchestra/
WQXR will broadcast this concert live on 105.9 FM and via live stream at www.wqxr.org

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According to this article, the 2016 tours are supported by the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC).  The article, posted by the JUSFC, contains some errors about the concert dates -- please see the text in yellow highlight below.

JUSFC40 Meet Our Grantees Series: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

May 23, 2016 
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission is having conversations with a number of grantees.
The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission is proud to support the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and its project, Orpheus with Nobuyuki Tsujii:  a Cross-Cultural Partnership. This unique conductor-less orchestra will collaborate with 27 year-old Japanese pianist and composer Nobuyuki Tsujii in summer 2016 to rehearse and perform two Beethoven symphonies in the United States and Japan.
Blind since birth, Mr. Tsujii has enjoyed a rising career since winning the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn Piano Competition in 2009. The Orpheus Orchestra has a long history of touring to Japan. “This is almost our 30th year of touring to Japan and we are celebrating our one hundredth concert. We like to say our home base is Carnegie hall but after that it’s Suntory Hall,” said Shruti Adhar, Director of Development and Engagement for the orchestra.
The project will include a dozen performances in Japan and the United States, including engagement programs in both countries for students and visually impaired individuals.
The program begins today in New York City with rehearsals through June 4, 2016. Public school children have been invited to the rehearsals and will be guided through the process of creating music in an orchestra without a conductor. Orpheus has also invited students from the Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School at Lighthouse International, which is the world’s leading service organization for blind and visually impaired individuals.
The two-week tour of Japan will begin during the first week of June. Performing in Japan is special for the orchestra, which premises its work on a revolutionary principle. The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has no conductor. The orchestra has a very democratic structure, with musicians listening to each other and rotating leadership among themselves. By performing without a conductor, Orpheus’ collaborative music-making uncovers rich musical layers infused with the individual vision and energy of each musician. “Sharing that with Japanese communities is very moving,” remarks Adhar.
For the third consecutive time, the city of Sendai in the Tohoku region will be featured on the tour. The orchestra’s first visit to this region was in May 2012, just one year after the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake. The musicians were moved to offer emotional respite to the residents, and they also visited Sendai’s Shukoh Middle School to perform, coach, and speak with the orchestra students. Orchestra members returned to the school in 2014 and will do so again in 2016.
In Tokyo, the orchestra hopes to engage young people. Adhar says that they plan to invite young people to their daily rehearsals. “They can see more of the democratic process at the rehearsals,” she says. “That’s where you see teamwork in action and the conversations among the musicians. We give them an introduction to the Orpheus process, they watch an hour of the rehearsal, and then students break out and talk one on one with the musicians.”
Following the Japan Tour, Orpheus and Tsujii will present thee[actually, two] concerts for American audiences. On July 5th, they will perform at a free outdoor concert in New York City’s Central Park as part of the renowned Naumburg Orchestral Series. They will then travel to Winona, Minnesota, on July 11th  to anchor the Minnesota Beethoven Festival. [These dates are wrong: Nobu performs in Minnesota on June 25 and in New York's Central Park on June 28.]
The program is forging ties between the United States and Japan. “It is helping to deepen this cross cultural partnership with the Japanese artists in Japan and the United States,” stresses Adhar. “We feel like it’s a powerful statement about the relationship between the United States and Japan because we are collaborating and creating art together.”

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MORE TO COME -- PLEASE CHECK BACK 

RELATED ARTICLES:
Nobuyuki Tsujii × Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus in U.S., 2014
Nobu returns to Carnegie Hall, Jan 25, 2014
Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus in Japan, 2014 

 

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"Our own moral awakening" -- President Obama at the Hiroshima Memorial Park

May 27, 2016, 5:14 pm
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On May 27, 2016,  President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to pay a  visit to Japan's Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.   In a moving speech, he started with:"Seventy-one years ago, on a bright cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed."  He ended his speech with: "That is the future we can choose. A future in  which Hiroshima and Nagasaki are known not as the dawn of atomic warfare  but as the start of our own moral awakening."

The Full text of the speech can be found here => http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/28/world/asia/text-of-president-obamas-speech-in-hiroshima-japan.html

I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in 2014, and President Obama's speech brought back profound memories.

With deepest respect, I made a short video of the speech using footage from Boomberg News found on YouTube, and added as background music sound track from  a 2015 performance of Beethoven's Pathetique by my beloved Nobuyuki Tsujii. 

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Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus -- 2016 Japan tour news, comments and photos

June 4, 2016, 9:37 pm
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In June 2016, Nobuyuki Tsujii and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra make their second Japan tour, titled "Masterpieces of Beethoven."   Please scroll down to browse the news, photos and comments about the tour, collected on this page.


6/14 19:00 Sendai 東京エレクトロンホール宮城 Tokyo Electron Hall (~1200 seats) 
Nobu to play Beethoven's Emperor.  Sendai (Miyagi prefecture) is in the Tohoku region, which was devastated by the 2011 earthquake & tsunami.

6/13 No performance today.
People in cold-weather regions tend to be stoic, and so I don't express to hear much from Sapporo about yesterday's matinee concert. But this Instagram says it well:
風の強い札幌中島公園のキタラホールへ。辻井伸行&オルフェウス室内管弦楽団の演奏を深い感動で聴き終えました。ちょっと言葉では言い表せない、そんなカンジで。
"I went to the Kitara Concert Hall in windy Sapporo. The performance of Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is over; the listening has left a deep impression. A little beyond words ..."

And a nice blog post!
http://ameblo.jp/ri9cha/entry-12169862452.html
June 12, 2016
昼下がりはコンサｰトホｰルKitara ♪ 辻井伸行 ‘圧巻のベｰトｰヴェン’
Afternoon at concert hall Kitara ♪ Nobuyuki Tsujii 'Masterpieces of Beethoven'
さっぽろは、涼しい初夏の陽気空☆☆
街は、初夏を彩るイベント、YOSAKOIソーラン祭り中よさこい
このお祭りには、ほとんど自ら出向かないんだなぁ…
というわけで、今日は
中島公園内の音楽ホール〝札幌コンサートホール Kitara〟
建物の壁は総ガラス張り
大ホールは、世界有数の響きといわれる、美しくダイナミックな音楽施設Sapporo, cool early summer under cheerful sky ☆☆
City, events that mark the early summer, at YOSAKOI Soran Today it is a concert at the Kitara Hall in the park.
The walls of the building was bathed in a glaze of sunlight.
This Great Hall is said to has one of the world's leading acoustics, a facility for beautiful and dynamic music 
『辻井伸行＆オルフェウス室内管弦楽団～圧巻のベートーヴェンピアノ』
はじめて生で耳にする、ピアニスト辻井伸行さんの音色♪
辻井さんの生き生きとした表情、強い指の動きの素晴らしさ。
彼の手、きっと相当に大きな手、長い指てのひら
演奏し終えたときの、笑顔顔
観客みんなを惹きつける魅力ですね
独創的な演奏をされる「オルフェウス室内管弦楽団」とのコラボ、
感動デ
"Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra - masterpieces of Beethoven "
It was my first time hearing live the tone of pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii.Mr. Tsujii's lively look,
the splendor of the movements of his strong fingers .
His hand, surely fairly big hands, and long finger stretch.
When he finished playing, smiling face.
Everyone in the crowd was charmed.
Creative collaboration with the Orpheus.
Impressive.

アンコール曲「革命」は奮えましたキラキラ
辻井さんのピアノは、人に感動を与えます
A sparkling "Revolution" [etude, Chopin] for encore shook me.
Everybody was impressed by Mr. Tsujii's piano.


6/12 Sunday 13:00 北海道  Hokkeido 札幌コンサートホール Kitara Concert Hall ( 2,008 seats), a world-class venue 
Concert info Nobu to play Beethoven's Emperor
On the site of the concert Hall it says
当日券販売状況
販売なし
"No ticket sale on day of performance" -- meaning that it is sold out.
This performance was among the first to sell out on this tour. Nobu has a large fan base in Hokkaido. 

ブラボー！辻井伸行くん！  Bravo, Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii  -tweet from Hokkaido at about 3:30 PM Japan time


Yura tweeted
辻井伸行&オルフェウス 東京、札幌、仙台はとっくに完売してますけど大阪2日間は両日共チケット復活して発売してます！公演日18土、19日 お急ぎを！🎹 🎻 http://w.pia.jp/a/tsujii-orpheus/
Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Tokyo, Sapporo, Sendai have sold out long ago, but Osaka have newly released seats on  both days ticket! Performances on June 18 Saturday, 19  Hurry! 🎹 🎻

♪ June 11
The tour rests for ONE day before heading north.

http://ameblo.jp/tatchan0722/entry-12169631562.html [blog post]
2016-06-11
辻井伸行 & オルフェウス室内管弦楽団。
Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

先日６月９日（木）愛知県名古屋市の愛知県芸術劇場という所にピアニストの辻井伸行さんとニューヨークのオルフェウス室内管弦楽団がベートーベンの曲を演奏するコンサートに行ってきました。クラシックのコンサートなんて四年ぶりです✨
The other day, on June 9 (Thursday) I went to Nagoya's Aichi Prefectural Art Theater for a Beethoven concert of Nobuyuki Tsujii and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra of New York.  It was my first classical concert in 4 years.  

辻井伸行さんの出番は上記のプログラムの「ピアノ協奏曲」とアンコールの「月光」だけでしたが彼が奏でるピアノのトーンは美しかったです。途中僕みたいな素人でも判るほどトチッた部分はありましたが素晴らしい演奏に酔いしれました♬
Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii played a piano concerto, and the "Moonlight" sonata played for encore was very beautiful. Even an amateur like I can understand how the performance is intoxicating.
そしてもう一方の主役である「オルフェウス」です。このオケはコンダクターがいないのでコンサートマスターが「指揮」を執っているんでしょうか。とにかくそのシンクロニシティと各メンバーの力量に思わず唸ってしまいました  And the "Orpheus" is an orchestra without a conductor; the concert master takes "command".  Anyway, I could not help but admire the synchronicity of the orchestra and the competence of each member
辻井伸行さんとオルフェウスの演奏はまた生で聴きたいと思いました。それではまたごきげんよう✨  I was glad to have heard the performance of Nobuyuki Tsujii and the Orpheus thought  live.  It was a nice day.
 ----
http://ameblo.jp/ribon-ribon/entry-12169414245.html[blog post]
辻井伸行&オルフエウス室内管弦楽団
2016年06月10日
愛知県芸術劇場コンサートホールに行って来ました。
Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Jun 10, 2016
I went to the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater Concert Hall.
席はステージ後方より見る位置です。ステージと客席がよく見えるのであります。
とにかく、一言！
ベートーヴエンの
『運命』が素晴らしかった。
Seat is in the back of stage, in full view of the audience.
Anyway, my word!
"Fate" of Beethoven was great.
生まれて初めて生で
運命を聞きました。
I heard it for the first time in my life
..
辻井伸行さんはピアノ協奏曲のみの参加。
ピアノのタッチのカタカタカタとい音が、整ったリズムで、打ち寄せる波みたい。昇天しそうな気持ちよさのピアノ。 ほぇ～と辻井伸行さんの顔の後ろに
もれなく居眠りする
オッサンの顔が(+_+)
しかも口を開けて
大の字に寝るなや。一番いい席で、信じられない。マナーの悪さ。
Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii's participated only in the piano concerto.
Katakatakata  sound of the piano touch, in a well-honed rhythm, like the surf
The piano sound is soothing.
In the back of the hall and behind the face of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii,
as always the face of an old man snoozing
with mouth open, sprawling as if in bed.  In the best seat; unbelievable.  Bad manners.
オルフエウス室内管弦楽団は、指揮者がいなくて
曲ごとにコンマスが変わるみたいだった。それにびっくり。 指揮者なくても
こんな演奏できるのかー！さすが。一部分を耳にするのと、生演奏で全部を聞くのとでは
全く違うのですね。
音楽のある生活。
有難いです。
The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra does not have a conductor, the commander changes with each work.  I was surprised.  Even without a conductor, the performance was to die for!  Indeed, hearing music live is completely different.  Life with music.  I am thankful.
----
Tweet:
辻井伸行＆オルフェウス室内管弦楽団
🌹圧巻のベートーヴェン🌹
辻井さんの生演奏痺れました。
素敵過ぎて言葉にできません。
本当にいい刺激。また行きたい。 
Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
🌹 Masterpiecseof Beethoven 🌹
Tsujii's live music mesmerizes.
Words cannot express how good it was.
Really good stimulus. I wantto go [to his concert] again.



♪ June 10 The fourth performance in as many days  6/10 19:00 福岡 Fukuoka 福岡シンフォニーホール Fukuoka Acros Symphony Hall (1,663 seats)
Concert info
Nobu played Beethoven's Emperor.  4 encores including Nobu's Chopin nocturne #2.  Please read on.

 
It seems there was a bit of celebration after the performance, judging from photos shown on the orchestra's facebook page, including these two:

 
There has been a surprising number of tweets that came up after this concert.There has been a surprising number of tweets that came up after this concert. Someone saw Nobu at the Nogoya Station -- so that's how he traveled from there to Fukuoka!  And Nobu played Chopin's nocturne no. 2 as one of 4 encores, to great applause (Chopin is always a crowd-pleaser in Japan -- I am glad Nobu played something different each night, if only out of consideration for the orchestra.)

今日は誕生日プレゼントにもらったチケットで辻井伸行さんのベートーヴェン聴いてきます
My birthday present today -- will be listening to Nobuyuki Tsujii's Beethoven  - tweet

辻井伸行&オルフェウス室内管弦楽団の公演へ。楽しみ*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* #アクロス福岡 #辻井伸行 I have come to the performance of  Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Fun * · ゜ﾟ · *: ......: * · '(* ° ▽ ° *)'· *: ... ...: * · ゜ﾟ · * # Acros Fukuoka # Nobuyuki Tsujii

今日の辻井伸行&オルフェウスに行くと11月まで演奏会には行かない予定だからしっかり楽しもっ！！！ 本日のプログラム ベートーヴェン 《コリラオン》序曲 ピアノ協奏曲第5番《皇帝》 交響曲第7番 たのしみたのしみたのしみ！！！Today's concert of Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus makes up for one that I didn't get to go last November.
Today's program is a pleasure:  Beethoven "Corian" overture, Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" Symphony No. 7 -- looking forward to, looking forward! ! !

今日名古屋駅でピアニストの辻井伸行さんをお見かけしました。まさかでびっくりしましたが、お目にかかれて光栄でした(^^)  Today we saw pianist Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii in Nagoya Station. I was surprised and could not believe it.  It was an honor to meet you (^^) -tweet

Yura tweeted
今夜のアンコール 🎹 辻井伸行×オルフェウス室内管弦楽団《圧巻のベートーヴェン》新たなまさかです✨ショパン『ノクターン第2番』✨これはきっと…音色が美しすぎてオーケストラのどなたかが泣いてたとゆうことなんですね わかります…>_<…  Tonight's encore 🎹 Nobuyuki Tsujii × Orpheus Chamber Orchestra "Masterpieces of Beethoven" is a new one -- Chopin "Nocturne No. 2"  This is surely ... Tone is too beautiful and I understand that someone in the orchestra was also crying.

久しぶりの辻井伸行さん。感動して涙がぽろぽろ。辻井さんがリズムとるとことかずうっと見いっちゃう。オケの皆さまも涙ぐんでたり素敵な時間でした。 Nobuyuki Tsujii  after a long time. Impressed and shed tears.   Mr. Tsujii takes his rhythm the way he looks at things, without violence. Everyone of the orchestra also seemed to havea wonderfultime, some in tears.

久々にクラシック聞きに行った。 オルフェウス室内管弦楽団とても素敵だったー♪ 辻井伸行さんの皇帝も素晴らしかった！！ 辻井君はまた来月のTHE PIANISTで！I went to hear classic after a long time.  Orpheus Chamber Orchestra was  very nice Nobuyuki Tsujii's Emperor was also great! ! I will also be seeing Mr. Tsujii next month at THE PIANIST!

辻井伸行さんのピアノ、瑞々しく素敵だった。アンコールのノクターンは、最後の最後まで余韻を味わってからの大拍手！ #辻井伸行 Nobuyuki Tsujii's piano, it was fresh and nice. The Nocturne encore got a  large applause;  the taste lingered until the last note.

辻井伸行&オルフェウスとても良かった。 前半のオルフェウスは本調子じゃない感じがしたけどベト7の三楽章あたりからテンション上げてた。 それから辻井伸行との皇帝は辻井伸行のピアノがとにかく美しい。 アンコールは異例の4曲！ これまでいろいろコンサートに行ったけどこんな事はなかった。  Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus was very good.  The first half of the Orpheus had raised tension from the three movements ... Then "empero"r of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii is anyway a beautiful piano Nobuyuki Tsujii.  Encore was an extraordinary 4 songs!  In all the concerts that I have gone to there was no such a thing ever!

And this tweet saddens me -- seemingly from someone who arrived at the venue, without a ticket, trying in vain to get in
辻井伸行聴いたことなかったが、まぁ試しにOK！（爆） @ アクロス福岡  Nobuyuki Tsujii was not heard, Well , to try! (LOL) https://www.instagram.com/p/BGeDnQWCD7fg4MK8es-yPoP9XsBjC2j84Xmzpk0/

辻井伸行さんのピアノの旋律は、辺りの空気を取り巻いて解きほぐし返していくような、愛に溢れた純度の高い演奏でした。
純化された 柔らかく優しい温度。
なんてゆうか、愛！ 
Nobuyuki Tsujii's piano melody of the piano unraveled in the air.
It was a great performance, full of love.
Purifiedsoft andgentle temperature. 
Such  assurance, love it!

明日はアクロス福岡、辻井伸行×オルフェウス室内管弦楽団さんのベートーヴェンの演奏を聴きに行きますよー！楽しみ！  Tomorrow at the Acros Fukuoka, I am going to listen to the performance of Beethoven of  NobuyukiTsujii× OrpheusChamber Orchestra! Fun!

福岡のイベント情報 びもーる ‏@bemall_fukuoka tweeted
今日★【音楽】辻井伸行&オルフェウス室内管弦楽団 アクロス (6/10) http://bemall.jp/fukuoka/iBmumrsGuwfr5y …
Today [music] Nobuyuki Tsujii and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra concert June 10

♪ June 10 Nobu does not travel in Luxury in Japan ^_^
A blog post came up by a blogger who took the trouble of dressing up in a kimono for the concert of Nobu & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Nagano.
Notable is this photo of a taxi she caught sight of near the venue.
タクシー！タクシー?タクシーflair
辻井君が降りてきた。連れ合いに、「ねぇねぇ、辻井君、辻井君。」と言うのが精一杯で、ただただ見つめていた。白いラインの紺のブレザーが爽やか。
 A taxi!  Mr. Tsujii got out. All I could say to my companion was: 'Look, Tsujii kun, Tsujii-kun.' I could only stare. He was wearing a refreshing outfit of white slacks and blue blazer." 
And look how she describes the music that she heard:
休憩後「皇帝」。辻井氏とオルフェウスの音が絡み合い、混じり合い、溶け合う。辻井氏の上向音階がオルフェウスの音の底から宙へと湧き上がっていく。
コーヒーだけでも美味しい。ミルクだけでも美味しい。両方合わせると新たな味が生まれる。
不穏さは更に不穏に、哀しさは更に哀しく、優しさは更に優しく、辻井氏の音色は、様々な心の動きを増幅する。温かく厳しく美しく華やかに。
オルフェウスの音は私の包みこむ。辻井氏の音は、私の中にしみ込み震わせる。
After the break, "Emperor". The sound of Mr. Tsujii in entanglement with the Orpheus in a fine mix, melting together. Tsujii's upward scale is going up springing into the air from the bottom of the sound of Orpheus.
Delicious is the coffee along. Delicious just the milk.
But in a mix a new taste is born.
The agitation is more agitated, the sadness is more sad.
The tenderness is more gentle.
Tsujii's tone moves the heart in so many ways, with warmth, beauty and grandeur.
The sound of the Orpheus enveloped me. The sound of Mr. Tsujii shook me.
 And I like it that this blogger ended her post with this thoughtful sentence:
日程が結構詰まっているこのツアー、皆さん健康に気をつけて。
"The tour schedule is quite packed; I hope everyone take care."


June 9 The third performance in as many day
6/9 18:45  愛知  Aichi, Nagoya 愛知県芸術劇場 コンサートホールAichi Prefectural Art Theater Concert Hall (1,800 seats) Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3Concert info


♪ June 9 
The Nagoya super concert lived up to its name, judging from these early audience reactions:
辻 井伸行＆オルフェウス管弦楽団～圧巻のベートーヴェンコンサートに行ってきました🎹本当に素晴らしかった！辻井くんのピアノ協奏曲で感動のあまり涙 が…。疲れてるのかな(笑)？辻井くんの生演奏に心打たれました。 Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Orchestra Orchestra Beethoven concert was truly amazing! Tsujii's Piano Concerto moved me to tears. I am worn out( lol)? Tsujii's live music touched my heart.


辻井伸行さんのコンサート行った むっちゃうまい 感動 Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii included, the concert came out with very good impression



辻 井伸行＆オルフェウス室内管弦楽団のベートーヴェンコンサートでした。 ピアノ協奏曲一曲だけで最初はえーもう一曲！と思いましたが（←予習しないから曲目知らずに行ってしまうので。。） とても素晴らしい演奏で今は幸せいっぱいです。Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Beethoven concert in. Originally only one piano concertos in the flyer - one more was performed! ... It was a great performances; I am now filled with happiness.

辻井伸行さんのコンサートat芸文なう 辻井さんかっこいい！！感動 Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii looked great at concert at Art Theater! Impressed.

アンコールで月光1弾いて途中まで最高だったのに最後だけめっちゃミスタッチしちゃう辻井さん The best was the Moonlight Sonata by Mr. Tsujii played as encore.
 
♪ June 8
Hey, we have finally heard from Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Posting on Twitter
Last night Orpheus performed with Nobuyuki Tsujii, piano, in Kawasaki to a sold out audience!
There are more photos posted on the orchestra's facebook page
 
June 8/9
Nobu is beloved in Nagano, as these tweets that came up after the June 8 concert testify
今 日は上田に行って来ました！「辻井伸行&オルフェウス室内管弦楽団」サントミューゼにて。素晴らしい場所そして演奏会！ 今日聞いた演奏は心のなかに残り続けるでしょう！ Today I went to Ueda! In the "Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra" at Santo Myuze. Great venue and what a concert! The playing heard today will continue to rest my mind!

そ ういえば、昨日辻井伸行さんのピアノを聴いてきた。コンチェルト。もう、幸せだった聴けて。ピアノってどんな楽器よりもピュアで綺麗な音色の楽器だなって 思わせるくらい磨きに磨きに磨きがかかった美しい音色でした。それにあの親しみやすさ。ベートーヴェンのイメージを180度変えられました。 Speaking of which, yesterday I was listening to Nobuyuki Tsujii's piano. Concerto. I was happy listening. It was a beautiful tone that brighten the instrument, reminding me of the beautiful timbre of a pure piano sound. And it has a easy familiarity. It has changed my image of Beethoven 180 degrees.

すごかった！！辻井伸行さんの演奏を目の前で聴けて 最高に幸せでした😊 いつかラフマニノフも聴いてみたいな 感動をありがとう✨ It was amazing! ! I was happy to listen to Nobuyuki Tsujii's great performance right in front of the eyes 😊 Thank you for the excitement. I want to someday be listening to Rachmaninoff

辻 井伸行さんの生演奏すごかった！ こんなに心打たれた演奏初めて。聴きに行けてよかった😊 わたしもこんな演奏したい。 Nobuyuki Tsujii's live music was great! For the first time this playing struck my mind. I am glad I went to listen😊 I also want to play this.

いろい ろ犠牲にして聴きに行ってきました🎼「圧巻のベートーヴェン」素晴らしかった…。生で聴く、辻井伸行さんとオルフェウスの演奏は最高でした。 アンコール、まさかの4回 I made a number of sacrifices to go to this concert. It was great, "Masterpieces of Beethoven" .... Listened live, the playing Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii and the Orpheus was the best. 4 encores on a rainy day. [The photo shows the same 3 encores as at Kanazawa concert plus an additional orchestra piece.]

A lengthy blog post ("Kimono at Concerts" blog) came up on June 10, with lots of photos including this one, and the blogger has compliments for both Nobu and the orchestra.
 

♪ June 8 19:00長野 Nagano サントミューゼ（上田市交流文化芸術センターSanto Myuze Ueda exchanges Cultural Arts Center)The venue opened in fall 2014 and looks to be yet another world-class concert hall.
Concert info
Beethoven's Emperor will be performed.
♪ June 8
Nobu's next performance starts in 3 hours in Nagano, Japan. Meanwhile, this nice tweet came up about last night's performance.
オルフェウス室内管弦楽団は指揮者なしで、
あんなに厚みのある音が生まれる！
辻井さんのピアノの音色も透明さにだんだん奥深さが加わって更に美しく。
耳には残らない、体と魂に刻まれる音でした。
I went to Nobuyuki Tsujii's concert yesterday.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is without a conductor, yet generates such a rich sound!
Tsujii's tone of the piano is even more beautiful, now with increased  clarity and depth.
It lingers in the ear, a sound that is engraved on the body and soul.
Some Japanese tweets really do read like poetry.

♪ June 8 An enigmatic blog post about last night's concert. The blogger praises Nobu and yet criticizes that the "dark tone" was poor.  [Spoiler alert -- encores revealed in a photo].
http://cashmere0501.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-427.html
2016.06/07 [Tue]
辻井伸行君のピアノ Piano of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii
本日、ミューザ川崎シンフォニーホールでの
辻井伸行君とオルフェウス室内管弦楽団のコンサートに行ってきました！
オール・ベートーヴェンプログラムです。
もちろんチケットは完売。
Today, at the Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall
Nobuyuki Tsujii I went to you and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra concert!
This all-Beethoven program.
Of course, tickets are sold out
今もっともチケットを取るのが難しい音楽家の一人、盲目のピアニスト辻井君。
TVでよく見ていますが、ライブで演奏を聴くのは初めてです♪
オルフェウス室内管弦楽団は、
小編成ですが、指揮者を置かないオーケストラとしても有名です。
Blind pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii is one of the most difficult musician to get tickets now. Although he is often seen on TV, this is my first time listening him live ♪
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a a small organization, but is also famous as an orchestra that does not have a conductor.
http://news777seven.com/?p=1144
曲目は、
前半にベートーヴェンの”コリオラン序曲”と”交響曲第７番”、
後半に”ピアノ協奏曲第５番《皇帝》。
Music is,
The first half of Beethoven's "Coriolan Overture" and "Symphony No. 7",
"Piano Concerto No. 5" Emperor "in the second half.
前半は、線が細いながらも息の合った演奏で、
後半はバランスもよく端整な皇帝でした。
In the first half, the performance is delicate, balanced by the grandeur of "Emperor" in the second half.
辻井君のピアノは、
無邪気で明るく優しく、テクニックは完璧です。
The piano of Tsujii kun ,
Innocent and gently brilliant; technique is perfect.
皆に愛される音楽は、やはりさすがの一言！
一見非の打ち所がないのですが、
暗さがなさすぎて音色が乏しいとも言えます。
アンコールの”悲愴の第二楽章”は、
悲愴感が皆無なのでした。(^_^;)Music that is loved by everyone, but a word is in order!
To me it seems to be not entirely impeccable,
The dark tone is poor.
In the encore "The second movement of the Pathetique" ,
the pathetic feeling was none. [Editorial: I disagree with this assessment, judging from videos of previous performances of this piece.]
モーツァルトのピアノ協奏曲をオーケストラと奏した後、
最後はオーケストラのみで”愛の挨拶”で締められました。
After playing a Mozart piano concerto with the orchestra,
the orchestra alone performed [Elgar's] "Salut".
生・辻井君の素晴らしい演奏を聴けて大満足です。
存在そのものに癒される稀有なピアニスト、
末長く活躍していただきたいと思いました(^^)
And listening to a great live performance of Tsujii-kun is a big satisfaction.
He is a rare living pianist who heals.
I wish him continued success.

♪ June 7
This tweet seems to indicate that the first performance went well --
第 2部 ピアノは中央に♡（だよね…） いよいよ辻井伸行氏の登場 手元は見えなかったけど、たまに覗く表情とペダルを踏む足 ピアノが休みの時には体を揺らしリズムをとったり、膝の上で自然に指が動いてたり… 最前列での醍醐味を味わった♪ 2nd half saw the piano in the center♡(right…) Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii finally appeared, he rocks the body in a rhythm at times. I saw his foot on the pedal and occasionally a peek of his facial expression. His fingers naturally moved on top of the knee ... I tasted the real thrill in the front ♪
 
辻井伸行さん素敵なピアノありがとう(✿´ ꒳ ` )感動しましたぁ•,。・:*:・゜’( ☻ ω ☻ )。・:*:・゜’ 　となりのおばはんが休憩中ちょっとうるさかったけど良い音楽を聴けたからおけーてことで(。゜▽゜) Nobuyuki Tsujii thank you nice piano (✿'꒳ `) I was impressed ... -tweet

今日は初めて辻井伸行さんの演奏を聴きにきました。 どきどき… Today I came tolistenfor the first time to Nobuyuki Tsujii's playing . Geart throbbing ... -tweet

♪ June 7 Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus -- 2016 Japan tour  kicks off with an evening concert in Kanagawa.
19:00 神奈川 Kanagawa MUZA Kawasaki Symphony Hall (1,997 seats). Concert info Nobu performs Beethoven's Emperor


♪ June 6
Excited anticipation in Japan for the kickoff of the Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus -- 2016 Japan tourYura tweeted with a short video clip from the last tour:

明 日の川崎も完売!指揮者がいなくても、オルフェウスとは2年前の初共演以上に共鳴し響き合えるに違いないし、私はやっと聴ける『ピアノ協奏曲第3番 とか期待が高まって楽しみしかないんですよー！(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)辻井伸行《圧巻のベートーヴェン》 Tomorrow Kawasaki has sold out! Even without a conductor, the Orpheus sound was in perfect resonance two years ago. I am looking forward to hearing the "Piano Concerto No. 3 " (* ° ▽ ° *) Nobuyuki Tsujii "masterpieces of Beethoven"

明日、辻井伸行さんの演奏会に(^^♪ Tomorrow, Mr.. Nobuyuki Tsujii concert (^^ ♪  -tweet

明日は！！ついに！！辻井伸行くんのコンサートだーーッ！！！大事をとって休みにした Tomorrow! At last! Nobuyuki Tsujii's concert!  Off to a safe start! -tweet

雨 だぁ雨雨雨ふらし～明日は晴れてくれ～辻井伸行さんのところ行くのだからね(。゜▽゜) ワンピ着ていくのだからね(。゜▽゜)Rain, rain, rain. Hoping for sunny weather tomorrow because I am going to the concert of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii, and I am wearing a dress ° ▽ °)  -tweet
♪ June 4 They are on their way!
Posted by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Basses packed and ready for our flight to Japan! Stay tuned over the next two weeks as we share moments from our Tour.

To which Nobu fan Yura tweeted:
いよいよ7日から！指揮者を置かないオルフェウス室内管弦楽団NYが 来日準備中のようですね♫ これはコントラバスのケースでしょうか でかいです！初日のミューザ川崎、現在3階に5席のみ残席あり！『圧巻のベートーヴェン』 辻井伸行♪  
Finally the 7th is near!  It seems that the conductor of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra NY is in Japan already [Note: the orchestra is conductor-less] ♫ Is that  a huge double bass case or what?  For the first day concert at the Muza Kawasaki, there are as of now only 5  unsold seats on the third floor! "Masterpiece of Beethoven" Nobuyuki Tsujii ♪

-------------------
There are 10 performances on this tour.  At each concert, Nobu performs either  Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" or Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3.
  1. 6/7 19:00 神奈川 Kanagawa MUZA Kawasaki Symphony Hall  (1,997 seats). Concert info Beethoven's Emperor
  2. 6/8 19:00 長野  Nagano サントミューゼ（上田市交流文化芸術センターSanto Myuze (Ueda exchanges Cultural Arts Center)(1,530 seats) Concert info Beethoven's Emperor
  3. 6/9 18:45  愛知  Aichi, Nagoya 愛知県芸術劇場 コンサートホールAichi Prefectural Art Theater Concert Hall (1,800 seats) Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3Concert info
  4. 6/10 19:00 福岡  Fukuoka 福岡シンフォニーホール Fukuoka Acros Symphony Hall(1,663 seats) Concert info  Beethoven's Emperor
  5. 6/12 13:00 北海道  Hokkeido 札幌コンサートホール Kitara Concert Hall ( 2,008 seats) Concert info Beethoven's Emperor
  6. 6/14 19:00 宮城   Miyagi 東京エレクトロンホール宮城 Tokyo Electron Hall (~1200 seats) Beethoven's Emperor
  7. 6/15 19:00   東京  Tokyo Suntory Hall (2,006 seats) Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Emperor")  Concert info 
  8. 6/16 19:00東京  Tokyo Suntory Hall (2,006 seats) Info  Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3
  9. 6/18 14:00 大阪   Osaka  ザ・シンフォニーホール Symphony Hall (1,704 seats) Concert info Beethoven's Emperor 
  10. 6/19 14:00 大阪  Osaka  ザ・シンフォニーホール Symphony Hall (1,704 seats) Concert info  Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 
Related pages:
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Nobu's Cliburn victory -- my favorite photos

June 5, 2016, 10:36 pm
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♪ June 4  Asahi News posting:
 6月7日　今日は何の日
辻井伸行さん、米・国際ピアノコンクールで優勝（平成21年）...
生 まれつき全盲の辻井伸行さん（２０）が７日、米国のバン・クライバーン国際ピアノコンクールで優勝した。辻井さんは幼いころから「神童」と注目を集めてき た。中国人男性とともに２人が１位となった。辻井さんはテキサス州フォートワースの会場で「両親をはじめ、サポートしてくれたみなさんに喜びの気持ちを伝 えたい」と語った。《朝日新聞》
"June 7, What Happened Today
Nobuyuki Tsujii won US and the International Piano Competition (2009) ... On this day, Nobuyuki Tsujii (age 20), born blind, won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition of the United States. Mr. Tsujii has been attracting attention as a 'child prodigy' since an early age. He shared the first prize with a Chinese. Mr. Tsujii said, at the venue in Fort Worth, Texas: 'With a joyful feeling, I want to thank everyone who supports me, including my parents.'"

The 2009 Cliburn Competition ... I didn't know about it.

In those days, I lived under a rock, and the fanfare of Nobu's victory eluded me completely.  It wasn't until 2010 that I chanced upon the documentary A surprise in Texas, and immediately succumbed to Nobu fever.

It is hard to believe that seven years have passed.  I have followed Nobu's career zealously, and have come to realize just how fortunate Nobu was to have been at the right place at the right time to win that competition.  I have also come to see that piano competitions are not necessary good things.  Still, I am forever indebted to the Cliburn Competition, without which I would in all likelihood never have come to know Nobu at all.

There was a ton of postings about the competition.  Please visit this page for some of the  materials that I collected from the web =>https://sites.google.com/…/nobufans/a-miracle-at-the-cliburn

To commemorate the 7th anniversary of Nobu's Cliburn victory,  I share below a handful of my very favorite images.
Photo above: Nobu with the late Mr. Van Cliburn, at a barbecue event held during a break in the competition; I think Nobu was one of the few competitors who showed up, along with his mother and his host family.  The cowboy hat was a gift from the Davidsons, Nobu's host family, who dressed him up in grand Texas style. (Nobu looks good in his cowboy outfit!)   A Fort Worth reporter wrote that he overheard Mr. Cliburn speaking excitedly after seeing Nobu perform Chopin's Op. 10 etudes in the first round.

Photo above: Nobu was surrounded by women throughout the competition.  Here, from left: Kay Nakamoto (interpreter, in pink), (in back) an assistant music instructor who flew in from Tokyo, mother Isuko Tsujii (in orange), and Fort Worth host family doyenne Carol Davidson (in yellow).

Photo above: Conductor James Conlon led Nobuyuki Tsujii back to the stage to accept further applause after his spellbinding performance of the Chopin Concerto No. 1 in the final round of the 2009 Van Cliburn Piano competition, with the Fort Worth Orchestra cheering on.  The audience in Bass Hall was on their feet instantly after the last note of the performance.  In the photo, you can see the facial expressions of many of the orchestra members, some of them in tears.

Photo above:  Nobu receives his medal from Mr. Cliburn.  Nobu said he was completely taken by surprise when his name was announced, and that he didn't expect to win at all.

Photo above:  Nobu, flushed with happiness,  hoists his trophy.

Photo above: Nobu was met with a mob of reporters (12 TV crews, it was written) and adoring fans at the airport, upon returning to Tokyo from Texas.

The rest, as they say, is history.  

Related pages:
A miracle at the Cliburn
A surprise in Texas
Nobu Fever
How I Caught "Nobu Fever"
Terms of Endearment.



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Nobuyuki Tsujii, Master of the Sounds of Nature

June 7, 2016, 4:01 pm
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The other day (June 6 2016), someone tweeted
辻井伸行「風がはこんできたもの」 #NHKマイあさラジオ #nhkr1
apparently after Nobu's own composition "What the Wind Carries" was aired on Japan's NHK Oita radio.
I have always loved this composition, and it makes me happy to know that it is still being heard in Japan. Here is a video of the composition in its original form, when Nobu performed it in Hokkaido for a TV documentary aired in Japan in 2011. 
 
This video prompted a U.S. Nobu fan to write:
"I love 'What the Wind Carries.' I love Nobu's closeness to nature. I think that is fascinating! Actually, I love [the book title]  'What Color is the Wind today?'  What a beautiful question! Anyway, if Nobu has composed it, I love it. I guess my favorite of his compositions is 'Whisper of the River.' That piece has Chopin all over it ...
I am happy -- ecstatic, really -- that  this work by Nobu has another admirer (who is a professional musician, no less!)

Nobu's original compositions enjoy great popularity in Japan, but -- to put it mildly -- they are under-appreciated in the West, with the exception of his Elegy for Earthquake Victims.

Only time will tell, but personally I think Nobu's compositions will find their place in the history of music.  As a composer, Nobu is as yet a diamond in the rough.  For example,  the melody of  the aforementioned 'Whisper of the River' is excellent but to my ears, the piece could use more variations and structure.  I don't know how much formal music theory Nobu was taught at the Ueno Gakuen (Music University) in Tokyo, where he was enrolled in a performer's program.  In any case, his hearing sensibility is phenomenal, and his musical instinct is great. And, when you think about it, Mozart and Chopin didn't go to the Juilliard either.  Nobu does have composer mentors in Japan,  but his biggest handicap, I believe, is the lack of time and peace of mind, due to his busy performance schedule.

Yet, in my humble opinion, Nobu is already a master in depicting the sounds of nature: the wind, the water and the chirping of birds.  As exhibits, please allow me to present below some of Nobu's compositions in that vein.

川のささや "Whisper of the River"

This work, mentioned above, is very popular in Japan; Nobu composed it while still in (junior?) high-school to express his love for his father after the two took a walk on the Kanda River in Tokyo.
Nobu performs it often in Japan, especially in his summer's concerts.  Here is a YouTube video with a sound track of the piece, "borrowed" from Nobu's best-selling "début" album.

「風がはこんできたもの」What the Wind Carries

You have heard this work on the soundtrack of the video on the top of this page.  That rendition is supposed to be an impromptu -- that is, Nobu whipped it up on the spot at the home of a renowned Hokkaido artist.  Nobu would later record a variation of the piece for his best-selling 2012 album「神様のカルテ～辻井伸行自作集」"God's medical records - Nobuyuki Tsujii original compositions collection."  You can hear that rendition on the soundtrack of the YouTube video below. Which one do you prefer?  I have my own opinion. And I have heard from a professional pianist about this.  If you like, scroll down to read our opinions at the bottom of this page.

ヴェネツィアの風に吹かれて」 Blowin' in the Winds of Venice

Years ago, a Japanese Nobu fan very generously brought me a book of the music scores of Nobu's compositions.  His works -- including 'Whisper of the River' --  are not easy to play, requiring a large stretch of the hands and lots of arpeggios.  Among the works, there is a piece, "The Winds of Venice," that I love and can play (by skipping some notes).  Here is a YouTube video that someone posted with a track of the composition "borrowed" from a recording by Nobu  in his best-selling 2012 album "God's medical records."Nobu composed this piece in 2011 for the theme music of an exhibition of Venetian arts in Japan.

「風の家」 "House of wind"

This is another impromptu; Nobu performs it for the first time in the documentary 「マヨルカの啓示～辻井伸行ショパンへの旅路～」 "Journey to the Mallorca - Nobuyuki Tsujii's Chopin Revelation", and it can be heard on the sound track of this YouTube video below, also "borrowed" from Nobu's best-selling 2012 album "God's medical records."
 

Nagano Forest -- impromptu

Among my favorites of Nobu's compositions is this little gem, little known and never recorded.  I extracted the video from a 2012 TV documentary of a summer concert of Nobu in a mountain resort of Nagano.  It is barely a minute long, and it is definitely an impromptu, composed by Nobu after a walk in the woods near the resort.  I was captivated by the piece instantly:  I can hear the birds chirping and feel the sun streaming through the trees in that Nagano forest, which Nobu himself cannot see.
 

By the way, Nobu is not bad at interpreting other people's compositions of the sounds of nature either: Ravel's Ondine, Liszt's  fountains of the villa d'este, Ravel's Jeux d'eau ...  
Let's  hope a day will come when we will see a Nobu album in the theme of Nature.
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Which version of  "What the Wind Carries"do you prefer?
♪ A Nobu fan who is a professional pianist wrote:
"(T)he second one no question. First of all, the recording is better, but more than that, he's changed some things in the piece and filled it out. The piano is full and gorgeous and when the main theme comes back in for the last time, he's changed the style of the accompaniment. It's beautiful actually.  I have heard the second one before. Sometimes with some of his compositions I like to sit at the piano and play obbligato parts with him. It's really neat! He's so easy to follow, because his harmonies go exactly where you think they should! "
♪ Speaking for myself, I initially rejected the 2nd rendition, perhaps because the initial rendition had left such an indelible impression on me when I first heard it on the 2011 TV documentary.  In time, I came to love both.  The first version has a verve, a swagger that is absent in the more refined second rendition.  But I have come to love the gentleness in the recorded version, and when I play it on my piano these days, the quiet melodies of Nobu stirs my heart.
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Nobuyuki Tsujii BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 -- NTV broadcast

June 16, 2016, 10:11 pm
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Related page: Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1

A video of this show can be viewed on your computer at => http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4h4er5 OR click arrow below.


On June 16, 2016,  Nippon TV (NTV) broadcasts Nobu's performance of  Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 that took place in January 2016, with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sylvain Cambreling
辻井伸行さん×カンブルランさん×読響のベートーヴェン／ピアノ協奏曲 第1番
6月16日（木）午前2：44～3：44（水曜深夜）日本テレビ
6月25日（土）朝7：00～8：00　BS日テレ（再放送）
 

Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (Yomiko 読響) posting on Twitter
【放 送告知】次回は6月16日・木曜午前（＝水曜の深夜）2:44から放送予定です。ピア ニストの辻井伸行さんが登場！ベートーヴェン・ピアノ協奏曲 第1番をお送りします。常任指揮者カンブルランさんとの共演は今回が初めてです。そして、高校の後輩にあたる番組ＭＣ松井咲子さんとの対談も
[Broadcast announcement] Next on the broadcast schedule is June 16-Thursday morning (= Wednesday, in the middle of the night) 2:44.
Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii to appear!
You will receive the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1.
This is the first time that he co-stars with Chief Conductor Cambreling.
And, he talks about junior high school with program MC Sakiko Matsui
In addition to footage of the performance, there is a bit of an interview by an announcer 松井咲子 Sakiko Matsui who was a former high-school classmate of Nobu.
http://ameblo.jp/sakikomatsui1210/entry-12170724838.html
 

♪ June 17
The following is a posting that appears on the orchestra's site after the initial broadcast.  The very rough English translation is mine.

放送内容  Broadcast Content

2016年6月16日（木）午前2：44～3：44（水曜深夜）
BS日テレでは2016年6月25日（土）朝7：00～8：00に放送
出演
指揮 シルヴァン・カンブルラン
ピアノ 辻井伸行
管弦楽 読売日本交響楽団
司会 松井咲子
曲目
♪ベート―ヴェン作曲
ピアノ協奏曲第1番 ハ長調 作品15
※2016年2月5日東京芸術劇場
Date and time
June 16, 2016 (Thursday) morning 2:44 to 3:44 (Wednesday midnight)
Re-broadcast BS Nippon Television June 25, 2016 (Saturday) morning 7:00 to 8:00
Appearances
http://www.ntv.co.jp/yomikyo/
piano Nobuyuki Tsujii
Orchestra Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra
Moderator Sakiko Matsui
Music
♪ Beethoven composer
Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15
※ 2016 February 5, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space

世界的なピアニスト、辻井伸行登場！！
今回は世界的なピアニスト、辻井伸行さんの演奏でベートーヴェン作曲ピアノ協奏曲第1番 ハ長調 作品15をお送りいたしました。
辻井伸行＆松井咲子スペシャル対談！！
Global pianist, Nobuyuki Tsujii appeared! !
This time, global pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii will perform Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 .

辻井さんと番組MCの松井さんが初対談！
Nobuyuki Tsujii & Sakiko Matsui -- a special conversation! !
The first interview of Nobuyuki Tsujii by program MC Sakiko Matsui.


2003年以来、読響と多くの共演をされてきた辻井さんにお話を伺いました。
Mr. Tsujii has been performing with Yomiko since 2003. 

松井私、本当に辻井さんを尊敬しているのですが、実は同じ高校に通っていまして…。辻井先輩が3年生の時に私は1年生で東京音大附属高校に通っていました。

Matsui: I really respect youi.  We actually went to the same high school .... When you were in the third year, I was in the first grade at the Tokyo Music University High School
辻井そうなんですか！それは偶然ですね。

Nobu:  Really! That's quite a coincidence.
松井高校の時の思い出など何かありますか？

Matsui: Do you have some memoriesof our high school?
辻井音楽高校ということで、お互い刺激しあえる仲間ができて非常に毎日が楽しかったです。

Nobu:  At the music high school, I enjoyedit very much every day and received stimulus from fellow students.
松井今回、こういう機会で辻井さんと一緒にお仕事できること、本当に嬉しく思います。

Matsui:  I am so very pleased that this time I have the opportunity to work with Mr. Tsujii.
辻井ありがとうございます。
Nobu: Thank you very much.

 
14歳で読響と初共演。辻井さんが語る読響の魅力
First co-starring with Yomikyo at the age of 14. Mr. Tsujii talks about the Charm of Yomikyo
松井辻井さんは14歳の時に読響と初めて共演をされましたが、その時の思い出は何かありますか？
Matsui: Mr. Tsujii co-starred with Yomiko for the first time at age 14.  Are there any memories of that time?
辻井非常に嬉しくて…まだ中学生だったので無心で演奏していました。
Nobu: Very happy ... I was playing with innocence because I was still a junior high school student.
松井国内ツアーを通して、読響の雰囲気をどのように感じましたか？
Matsui: When you went on a nationwide tour, howdid you feel about the atmosphere of theYomikyo?
辻井皆さん温かい方ばかりで本当に優しいですし、いざ演奏となると皆さん、素晴らしい演奏でした。もちろん回を重ねるごとにお互いの息も合い、良くなる部分もあり、やりたいことが分かり合えてどんどん違う演奏にもなってきますし、本当にお互い良い音楽が作れる。こうして素晴らしいオーケストラとツアーが出来るということは本当に光栄だなと思います。
Nobu: Everyone was warm and really friendly.  Everyone pitched in for a performance.  Those were great performances.  We learned to listen to each others' breath with each playing, and I felt more and more part of the orchestra with different performances.  We really made some good music together. I think it was an honor to go on tour with such a great orchestra.

松井 初めて共演をされた2003年と今の読響を比べて何か変わったことはありましたか？
Matsui: Has anything changed between co-starring with the Yomiko in 2003 and now?
辻井 初 めて共演させていただいた時も、もちろん素晴らしかったのですが、さらに、また素晴らしくなっていると感じました。音に厚みがありますし…自分の演奏も中 学生の時と今とでは違いますが、オーケストラもさらに進化しているので、それを見て自分も頑張らなければという気持ちでいつも演奏しています。
Nobu: When I was allowed to co-star for the first time, of course it was great;  but I feel now there is a wonderful depth to the sound ... although also there is a difference in time as I was a student then; and now, the orchestra has also evolved further.  I always play with the feeling that I must also work hard myself.

辻井さんが思うベートーヴェン作曲「ピアノ協奏曲」とは？
What does Mr. Tsujii think about Beethoven's Piano Concerto?

松井 今回お送りするのはベートーヴェンのピアノ協奏曲第1番です。辻井さんの演奏はとても華やかで聴いている私たちも幸せな気持ちにさせてくれると思いました。辻井さんはこの作品にどういったイメージを持って演奏されていますか？
Matsui: This time you are playing the Piano Concerto No. 1 of Beethoven.  When I listened,  I thought your playing was very glamorous and brought a happy feeling.  What do you think of this work when you play it?
辻井非常に壮大でスケールが大きく、若々しい感じがするので、大好きな曲です。ベートーヴェンは大好きな作曲家ですし、生涯取り組んでいきたいので勉強になりました。
Nobu: This is a large work of grand scale.  It has a youthful feel; it is one of my favorite works.   Beethoven is one of my favorite composers, and I would like to work with his compositions in a lifelong study.

松井さんが抱えるピアノについての悩み
Ms. Matsui's Concern about  Piano Playing

松井辻井さんの演奏は素敵だと思います。私もピアノを勉強していて自分の思いを音にしたり、イメージを表現するのがとても難しく悩んでいます。どうしたらいいと思いますか？
Matsui:  I think your playing is great.  I also studied the piano but for me, it suffered because I find it difficult to represent the image.  How do you think I can do better.?
辻井僕が演奏するうえで一番大切にしていることは、“作曲家がどう書いたのか”を楽譜から読み取り、イメージを膨らませて自分なりに音にして練習することです。作曲家がこの作品に込めたイメージなどをいつも弾き込んで考えて、音にしています。
Nobu: I think in terms of the performance, it is most important to keep in mind "what the composer has written" on the music score.  I practice to make the sound in my own way to expand on the image.  I try to express with sound the image that the composer put into his work.
松井ありがとうございます。
Matsui: Thank you very much.


辻井さんが思う松井さんの演奏
Mr. Tsujii's Thought on the Performance of Ms. Matsui

松井辻井さんはこのインタビューのために私のピアノ演奏を聴いてくれたそうですね！？
Matsui: Did you listen to my piano playing for this interview?

辻井ショパンの「革命」とあと、AKB48のメドレー曲なども聴きました。
Nobu: I heard your Chopin "Revolution" as well as themedleyofAKB48["a Japanese idol girl group"]
松井感想など恐れ多いですが…いかがでしたか！？
Matsui: I am afraid to ask ... but what was your impression?

 辻井元AKB48というアイドルでいらしているにもかかわらず、クラシックの勉強もされて…何でも出来て本当に素晴らしいなと思いました。
Nobu:   [Translation beyond me] Although AKB48 is an idol band,  I think having studied classical music, you can do well in anything!
松井恐れ多いです。ありがとうございます。…今日から頑張ります（笑）
Matsui:  I was so afraid to ask.  Thank you very much ... I will start to work hard starting today (laugh)
辻井いやいや。ですがこうして高校が一緒だなんて偶然ですし、ご一緒できて良かったです。
Nobu: Yeah. Yeah.   It was a coincidence that we were in the same high school.  That was good.
松井本当にありがとうございます。高校生の自分に言い聞かせたいです。
Matsui: Really, thank you very much.  I want to say that to my high school also.

初共演のマエストロ・カンブルランの印象は？
The impressionofco-starring with Maestro Cambreling for the first time?

松井話は戻りますが、今回初共演のマエストロ、読響常任指揮者のシルヴァン・カンブルランさんはどんな方だと思いましたか？
Matsui: This is your first time co-starring with Yomiko's resident conductor Maestro Sylvain Cambreling.  What did you think of him?
辻井彼は現代音楽を得意とされていらっしゃるということで、最初はアカデミックな方なのかなと思っていましたが、とても明るくて、陽気な方で共演していて楽しかったですし、ぜひまた共演させていただけたらなと思っています。
Nobu: I was aware that he specializes incontemporary music.  Although at first I thought he would be very academic, he is very brilliant and cheerful to work with.  I would like to perform with him again.
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♪ June 17
読響シンフォニックライブの放送の冒頭で 2003年の辻井伸行&読響初共演のグリーグピアノ協奏曲を弾く14才の時の映像が。沢山の聴衆の前でとっても初々しい辻井さん。 In the Yomiko Live broadcast, it shows Nobuyuki Tsujii at 14-year-old in 2003 costarring with the orchestra to play Grieg's Piano Concerto.  Lots of audience there for a very fresh Mr. Tsujii.

♪ June 16
Many tweets like this one came up during the NTV broadcast of Nobu's Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 performance, even though it was aired in the middle of the night in Japan. People in Japan just don't know how lucky they are!

午 前2時44分から日テレで読売シンフォニックライブでベートーヴェンピアノ協奏曲第1番。ピアノがあの辻井伸行さんでした。思わず指の動きに見とれ聞き惚 れました。演奏会には何度か行きました。テレビで見られるのも嬉しい。CDで聴くよりもまた違った感じです。彼は努力の天才だと思う。 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Yomiuri symphonic live at Nippon Television at 2:44AM . Piano was that Nobuyuki Tsujii. I was charmed involuntarily and fascinated with the movement of the finger. I have been to his concerts several times. It was a joy to watch him on television. It is also a different feel than listening to him on a CD. I think he is a genius of endeavor.

未明に放送された読響番組の #辻井伸行 演奏の進化を感じる。ＣＤより放送までの日数が短いテレビだと特に。いくらLvBピアコン１番とはいえ。Yomikyo program of # Nobuyuki Tsujiithatwas broadcast in the early hours.  I feel the evolution of his performance...  -tweet


Most people probably taped the show for viewing later. But there is also a re-broadcast on the 25th 6月25日（土）朝7：00～8：00　BS日テレ（再放送）
This page has a transcript of the show. The part where Nobu appears is shown below with my English translation.
2016 June 16 broadcast 2:44 to 3:44 Nippon Television
（読響シンフォニックライブ） Yomikyo Symphony Live
Performer: 松井咲子 Sakiko Matsui
Today's program is Nobuyuki Tsujii 's performance of Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op 15".
辻井伸行 × 松井咲子
松井咲子は、辻井伸行と高校が同じだという。高校の思い出について辻井伸行は「みんなが音楽をやっていて、お互いを刺激し合える仲間ができた」と話した。14歳の時に読響と初共演した辻井伸行「うれしくて、無心で演奏していた」と話した。実際の映像が紹介された。
Nobuyuki Tsujii × Sakiko Matsui
Sakiko Matsui and Nobuyuki Tsujii went to the same high school. Nobuyuki Tsujii's memories of high school: "I was doing all the music, and the students were able to stimulate each other," he said. I was happy, and was playing in innocence. " Nobuyuki Tsujii performed with Yomikyo [the orchestra] for the first co-star at age 14. Video of the performance was introduced.

Performance footage shown:
ピアノ協奏曲 イ短調
[Grieg's] Piano Concerto in A minor

読 響と国内ツアーも行った辻井伸行は「演奏以外でも、すごく暖かくて優しい。演奏も回を重ねるごとに、お互いの息があっていった」と話した。2003年の初 共演と比べ「音の厚みがあって、さらに素晴らしかった。自分の演奏も中学生の時とは違うけど、オーケストラもどんどん進化していると思った」と話した。
Nobuyuki Tsujii went on a domestic tour with the orchestra. "Other than the performances, the orchestra members were very warm and friendly. Also as we performed more and more, we were able to synchronize the breath of each other," he said. Compared to the first co-starring with the orchestra in 2003, he said: "The sound was a little different then, a little thicker but it was still great. a junior-high student and I thought the orchestra and I evolved together."
自分の思っているイメージを音にすること について、松井咲子が質問すると、辻井伸行は「大事にするのは、作曲家がどう書いたのか、イメージを膨らましながら音にして練習していく」とアドバイスし た。実際に松井咲子の演奏を聴いた辻井伸行は「アイドルなのに、クラシックの勉強もしていて、なんでもできるなと思った」と話した。
待望の初共演、シルヴァン・カンブルランについて、辻井伸行は「明るくて楽しい人だった。また、共演したい」と話した。
Asked by host Sakiko Matsui what he thinks of his sound's image, Nobuyuki Tsujii says: "I think about what the composer wrote, and I continue to practice to project in the sound an image that I perceived [of what the composer intends]." Nobuyuki Tsujii actually listens to the performance of Sakiko Matsui [a singer?]. He says: "I think you can perform anything after you have studied classical music.'
Of his long-awaited first co-star with [conductor] Sylvain Cambreling, Nobuyuki Tsujii said, "He is a bright and fun person. I would like to perform with him more."

Performance footage shown:
Sylvain Cambreling
(Yomikyo symphonic live)
Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15"

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Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in U.S. 2016

June 19, 2016, 9:03 pm
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Nobuyuki Tsujii and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra first performed together in 2014, making highly successful tours in the U.S. as well as in Japan. In June 2016, they reunite to once again tour in the two countries.
The just-concluded Japan tour ( June 7 - June 19) was a great success: 10 full-house performances, 8 cities, 4 programs, 50 encores.  Lots of photos and comments can be found on this page => Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus -- 2016 Japan tour (
They will reunite in the U.S. for two performances, on June 25 and 28.
This page is a collection of news, comments and photos on the two U.S. performances.

Nobuyuki Tsujii with the Orpheus at Suntory Hall, June 16 2016

Minnesota"is a midwestern U.S. state bordering Canada and Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes. It’s famously home to more than 10,000 lakes,"

Image source: sheppardsoftware
 Winnoa Middle School
As of June 20, there are still tickets available -- it infuriates me that Nobu & the Orpheus just performed in 10 packed world-class venues in Japan, and here in this country we can't fill the seats for them at a middle school auditorium.  It is a sad commentary on the state of classical music in this country.

June 28, 2016  7:30PM
Beethoven's "Emperor" piano concerto with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
at the Historic Naumburg Bandshell in New York's Central Park.
"Our 111th year of Free Concerts. No tickets issued. 1,000 seats provided on a first come first serve basis. [weather dependent] "
http://naumburgconcerts.org/concert/orpheus-chamber-orchestra/
WQXR radio will broadcast this concert live on 105.9 FM and via live stream at www.wqxr.org

♪ June 19
Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii updated her blog.  The text is shown below.  Two photos (the group photos shown below) accompany the post.

http://ameblo.jp/tsujii-itsuko/entry-12171900867.html
2016-06-18
「辻井伸行＆オルフェウス室内管弦楽団”圧巻のベートーヴェン”」コンサート、
東京公演2日目の打ち上げに参加してきました！
"Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Masterpieces of Beethoven " concert,
I was there for the second Tokyo performance!
この楽団は、 指揮者のいない独創的な演奏スタイルで演奏しています。
ソリストとしても活躍しているメンバー達の
強いエネルギーに満ち溢れた豊かな音楽が紡ぎ出されています。
The orchestra plays in an ingenious style without a conductor. The members are each active as soloists. They make rich music full of strong energy.
日本ツアーは残すところ大阪の１公演となりました！
The Japan tour will end with one performance [actually two performances] in Osaka
また、今月28日は、ニューヨークで
オルフェウス室内管弦楽団と伸行が共演します
場所はニューヨークのセントラルパークにある
バンドシェルの野外ステージで、19時半からです！
In addition, on the 28th of this month, in New York
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Nobuyuki will co-star
Location is in the Central Park of New York
In the open air stage of a band shell, at 7PM!
演奏曲目は、ベートーヴェン作曲の
ピアノコンチェルト第５番「皇帝」です
Repertoire is Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 is the "emperor"
伸行にとって初めての野外ですし、
なんと、チケットも無料なので、
もしニューヨークに行かれる方はぜひいらしてくださいね
It is the first open-air performance for Nobuyuki [actually, he performed in a baseball stadium in Tokyo in 2014],
And, because the ticket is also free,
Please, by all means do come to New York!

Photo after a performance in Tokyo on June 16.  Nobu is surrounded by a bevy of beauties hamming it up -- but mother Itusko  (to Nobu's right) is there to keep it under control. :-)
♪MORE TO COME.  Pleases check back.

Related pages:
Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus -- 2016 Japan & U.S. tour
Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Orpheus -- 2016 Japan tour news, comments and photos
Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3


 
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Nobuyuki Tsujii -- UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!

June 20, 2016, 4:11 pm
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Today, the London-based management firm 'HarrisonParrott'made an announcement that Nobuyuki Tsujii has signed on with the firm.  The announcement starts as follows:
Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii signs to HarrisonParrott
20 June 2016
HarrisonParrott is delighted to welcome pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (Nobu) to its roster for worldwide general management excluding Japan.

This development is not exactly a surprise.  In April of this year, when Nobu made his Wigmore Hall debut in London, I had the pleasure of meeting some representatives from HarrisonParrott at a reception held after the recital. I was told that Nobu was now being represented by the firm.

And, even before that, back in February, Nobu performed on a tour (the 究極の協奏曲 Ultimate Concertos" Japan tour) in Japan with violinist Fumiaki Miura, who posted this tweet:
Today,it was the last concert of the big tour with Yomiuri symphony , Nobu,and Mo.Warren-green ! @HarrisonParrott
My curiosity was piqued.  What's up with Miura-san tweeting to HarrisonParrot? Like Nobu, Mr. Miura is an Avex Classics artist. And if he is an HarrisonParrot artist, why not Nobu? I thought.

Now, the contract has apparently been inked, and Nobu is on the roster of HarrisonParrot artists, which indeed includes a number of young Japanese Avex Classics artists (violinists including Mr. Muira).  Other pianists on the HarrisonParrot roster are impressive, including well-established artists that I (and lots others) admire: Vladimir Ashkanazy, Krystian Zimerman, Nikolai Lugansky, and Maurizio Pollini ...  So, Nobu is in good company.

What does this development mean?  A Nobu fan asked.
I don't have insider information on this sensitive matter, so the following thoughts are just my own speculations -- please take them with a large grain of salt.

In the rarefied classical music world, a  professional performing artist signs on with a "talent firm" to manage his engagements.  The firm promotes the artist, makes concert engagements for him, and manages the logistics of his performances.  This artist management business is a black art that, perhaps by design, is very opaque to outsiders -- very little is known.

I don't know how it works with other pianists, but Nobu is perhaps an unusual case.  Nobu has a strong tie with his record label, Avex Classics, which exclusively manages his engagements in Japan.  Avex Classics, however, does not have a strong presence outside Japan, and so by necessity it turns to foreign management firms for the promotion and management of the overseas engagements of its artists.

For some time now, Nobu has been without an international management representative (as opposed to his Japan management,  which has been and remains to be Avex Classics).   In the wake of  the 2009 Cliburn Piano Competition, Nobu' overseas performances were managed by the U.S. firm IMG (International Management Group) Artists, as a prize for his gold-medal win.  Then, after the prize had run out,  IMG announced in January 2012 that it had signed "Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii for his North/South American management".  This was regarded as quite a coup for Nobu, as IMG was considered a top talent management firm in the U.S.  (I believe Avex handled Nobu's overseas engagements outside the Americas.)

But, in subsequent years,  IMG Artists experienced problems at its top, and, according to some sources, there was a mass exodus of managers from the firm, including Nobu's IMG agent in January 2015.  Sometime after that, Nobu disappeared from the roster of pianists represented by IMG (I believe as a result of a decision by Nobu's management in Japan to sever the tie.)

Now, a year later, Nobu's overseas representative is HarrisonParrot, a large firm based in London, with a strong presence in Europe, and, according to today's announcement, it will manage all of Nobu's overseas representation -- Europe, U.S., Russia, and everywhere else but Japan.  Clearly this development signals an emphasis on Europe (instead of U.S.) for Nobu's overseas engagements.

This shift from U.S. to  Europe has been going on for some time now.  As an American, it grieves me that Nobu has been appearing less and less in this country.  At the same time, there is no denying that the classical music business in the U.S. is dismal.  Case in point: Nobu and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra have just performed in ten world-class venues in Japan to full houses, and here in this country we can't manage to fill the seats for them at a middle school auditorium when they open the Minnesota Beethoven Festival later this week.  Meanwhile, Nobu's Europe engagements in recent years -- including his star turn at the 2013 BBC Proms2013 BBC Proms and a tour with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra just this past March -- have been great successes.

I hate to say it, personally I am more inclined to travel to London or Germany to attend Nobu's performances, rather than to Minnesota or to New York's Central Park in my own country. So, three cheers to the wizards at HarrisonParrot: please, please do your best for my beloved Nobu. How about a reappearance at the BBC Proms? Performances at the Barbican? My happiness is in your hands!
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