April 15
Last month, after I attended Nobuyuki Tsujii's March 28 recital La Jolla (San Diego, California), I was told by one of Nobu's managers that he will be making 3 more performances in California this year.
I knew of two (Hollywood Bowl August 26) & Costa Mesa (Nov 2), but not the third.
Today, Cal Performances, music program of the world renowned University California Berkeley, announced its 2025-26 season, and -- joy to the world -- Nobu is on the roster!
(Excerpt from this article.)
"In its season announcement — released today, April 15 — the organization [Cal Performances] calls its upcoming year of more than 80 performances “expansive and eclectic … showcasing the artistry of a wide range of the world’s most acclaimed creators and performers.”
"The classical recital lineup includes star vocalists ... and leading pianists — Daniil Trifonov (Sept. 28), Nobuyuki Tsujii (Oct. 30), and Jeremy Denk (Nov. 14)."
"Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is the program's artist-in-residence for the season."
"Subscription packages go on sale to the general public on April 22, and single tickets go on sale Aug. 5."
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Nobu's recital program for this performance is the same as for Carnegie Hall on Nov 5.
This is Nobu's debut at Berkeley. The recital-tickets page is at
https://calperformances.org/events/2025-26/recital/nobuyuki-tsujii-piano/
The recital will be held in Zellerbach Hall on the Berkeley campus. The Hall seats 1,978 (in various configurations)
"Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii—known to his legion of fans simply as Nobu—is that rare classical musician with a pop star’s following. Since winning the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, he has gone on to a stellar international career, filling concert halls with his emotionally direct, charismatic interpretations.
Here, he plays Beethoven’s timeless Appassionata sonata, Mikhail Pletnev’s piano adaptation of music from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and Prokofiev’s tumultuous seventh sonata.
[Nobu] brings quite an unusual gift to the performances he gives—interpretations which are entirely focused on the possibilities of sound and feeling; he almost reinvents the music he is playing” (Seen and Heard International)."
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This will be Nobu's first performance in Northern California since 2015 ( the Green Music Center , Sonoma May 1 and the Hearst Theater, San Francisco, October 17 -- I was at both :-)
Image below: Nobuyuki Tsujii in performance at the Green Music Center , Sonoma, May 1 2015
Welcome back to Northern California, Nobu!
Image below: Zellerbach Hall on the Berkeley campus
