The other day (June 6 2016), someone tweeted
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:
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.
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.
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.
"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.
-----------------
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.
-------------