The following post appeared on the "Fashion source!!!" site, by Hitomi Horiguchi "★Born in Tokyo 1975 ★Life coach & Entrepreneur since 2006." It describes well the May 25 concert of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Nobuyuki Tsujii at Bunkyo Civic Hall
The original post, in Japanese, is at https://fashion-source.themedia.jp/posts/43995209. Below is a partial English translation.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Nobuyuki Tsujii's concert
In March, Nobuyuki Tsujii's solo piano concert at Suntory Hall, where Kapustin's jazzy classical music was played, was a storm of emotions that I've never seen a more enthusiastic standing ovation, and it was a soul-shaking concert. !
This time, it is a concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Bunkyo Civic Hall. The seat is slightly to the right of the 20th row from the front. It was a position where the whole stage could be seen, and the whole orchestra could be seen.
■ Rachmaninoff "Piano Concerto No. 3"
First half is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Nobuyuki Tsujii. First of all, I am grateful that foreign orchestras came to Japan with big instruments after the pandemic. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is the national orchestra of England.
Mr. Tsujii came in accompanied by Mr. Petrenko, the conductor. Because Mr. Petrenko is tall, Mr. Tsujii looks very small. The sight is very cute (smile)
Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 3" is a work that combines beauty and grandeur while possessing emotional power and emotional depth. The work requires transcendent skill on the keyboard, and during the break from the piano, Mr. Tsujii was often seen taking out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his sweat.
While Mr. Tsujii is not playing the piano, he moves his whole body, which I think is a physical characteristic, and makes me feel that he is listening to the sound of the orchestra well.
When he plays the piano, he seems to swing his face from side to side and use his upper body to make the notes. And the sight of him hitting the piano with such strength that it is as powerful as the sound of the entire orchestra -- it looks like he puts his whole body and soul into it, and it moves my heart.
Playing with the orchestra, Mr. Tsujii is relying not only on sound, but his breath [coordination with the orchestra] is so perfect that even though he can't see his surroundings, his movements are in sync with the orchestra. Even though the members of the orchestra came to Japan from overseas, I sense that Mr. Tsujii of the world is used to it. I felt a strong sense of unity with him, perhaps because he is a spirit whose ego has been stripped away.
In the final movement of the Piano Concerto No. 3, the majestic piano melody merges with the grand orchestral music, reaching an emotional climax. This is the passionate and very cool part. And the orchestra and the piano ended at the same time. Mr. Tsujii vigorously took both hands off the piano, and I felt he had a strong sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Mr. Tsujii, who was a big success and wearing a big smile on his face, bowed deeply in all directions. Then, as is the wont at a classical concert, they [Nobu & conductor Petrenko] went in and out of the wings of the stage two or three times, and each time the applause grew louder. I rejoiced with mys whole body! I can feel the joy from here. Seeing people happy makes me feel happy.
■ Nobuyuki Tsujii's encore
And when he came back for the third time, he started playing the encore. I've heard this song before, but didn't know the title. When I looked it up to write this post, it was Beethoven, the second movement from Piano Sonata No. 8 "Pathetique"!
Surprisingly, this relates to Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" in the second half. The second movement of Beethoven's "Pathétique" evokes a sense of tenderness and tranquility, and is pleasant to the ear. Instead of being a pathetic song, it was a gentle song that seemed to find brightness in the sunlight filtering through the trees.
Again, Mr. Tsujii received a big round of applause, and Mr. Tsujii turned to the audience and waved his hand. Lovable (smile).
[The rest of the blog post describes the 2nd half of the concert, including the orchestral encore. Please read it at the original post https://fashion-source.themedia.jp/posts/43995209]
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