This Japanese article, entitled "A blind pianist! The Amazing career of Nobuyuki Tsujii and his Actual Ability," was first posted on September 2 2016, and has been re-posted today (January 15 2017). The site on which the article appears is operated by a "Maurice" and seems to feature opinion pieces on popular classical music performers in Japan (Midori and Ryu Goto, violinists, seem to be frequent subjects). The musical expertise of the writer is unknown.
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The original article can be read here: http://akogaresan.net/tujii-nobuyuki/
The text of the article cannot be copied and pasted, and so I am not able to make use of an online translator software to make my own translation. The posting can be read using the Chrome browser with translation turned on, but the translation is infuriatingly deficient.
The writer seems to have done his homework on the background of Nobu, including in the article the familiar story of Nobu's love of the piano as a child, and the people (Masahiro Kawakami, Yutaka Sado, etc.) who contributed to Nobu's career.
More notable is the last section in the article, titled "What is the actual Strength of Nobuyuki Tsujii?" Below is my impression of what's written.
I too am not expert enough to hear any mistakes -- and indeed it matters little to me. For I am clearly a good "match" for Nobu's music, as are so many other Nobu fans. Yes, Nobu's performance "resonates in our minds", and we will "always be fans and keep listening, no matter what."
But I do understand that there are people who value technique above all else, and perhaps this explains why critics and high-brows are so keen on pianists such as Mitsuko Uchida and Daniil Trifonov -- while ordinary me find their exaggerated performances insufferable.
To each his own. The world would be awfully dull if we all think alike.
Related articles
Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Kurotas
A kurota (?) came to Nobu's recital
The text of the article cannot be copied and pasted, and so I am not able to make use of an online translator software to make my own translation. The posting can be read using the Chrome browser with translation turned on, but the translation is infuriatingly deficient.
The writer seems to have done his homework on the background of Nobu, including in the article the familiar story of Nobu's love of the piano as a child, and the people (Masahiro Kawakami, Yutaka Sado, etc.) who contributed to Nobu's career.
More notable is the last section in the article, titled "What is the actual Strength of Nobuyuki Tsujii?" Below is my impression of what's written.
I am not qualified enough to detect errors in piano playing and such. However it seems that people who knows something about music made certain comments.
On the web, these people wrote: "student level", "frequent mis-touches", "gold medal of power."
However, a decent person that I know, who plays the piano, says although his piano playing is not perfect in technique, it has considerable merits.
In this way, what matters is not being able to play to the score and reaching a certain level of proficiency, but "being able to express oneself" can be considered as the ability of the individual.
In that sense, Mr. Tsujii offers a unique expression in his performance. I think the question is whether the performance resonates in the audience's mind.
So, when listening to Mr. Tsujii, some will find faults and others think he is wonderful. Those who are a good match with him will always be fans and keep listening, no matter what.
Mr. Tsujii's ability as a pianist is not decided by the reactions around us, but I think that it is right that he is evaluated by how he is heard.
By coincidence, not long ago I posted an article Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Kurotas describing some of the negative comments on Nobu from the Kurotas (classical music geeks in Japan). This posting reiterates that. Although something surely is lost in my interpretation of the text, I think what "Maurice" wrote is fair enough.On the web, these people wrote: "student level", "frequent mis-touches", "gold medal of power."
However, a decent person that I know, who plays the piano, says although his piano playing is not perfect in technique, it has considerable merits.
"Technique is the easier part of piano playing. In his playing of more difficult works, there is a tight feeling. But the tone colors that come from his pure heart and the melody that resonates with you is not something that can be generated by design, but it can be felt immediately when he plays."
In this way, what matters is not being able to play to the score and reaching a certain level of proficiency, but "being able to express oneself" can be considered as the ability of the individual.
In that sense, Mr. Tsujii offers a unique expression in his performance. I think the question is whether the performance resonates in the audience's mind.
So, when listening to Mr. Tsujii, some will find faults and others think he is wonderful. Those who are a good match with him will always be fans and keep listening, no matter what.
Mr. Tsujii's ability as a pianist is not decided by the reactions around us, but I think that it is right that he is evaluated by how he is heard.
I too am not expert enough to hear any mistakes -- and indeed it matters little to me. For I am clearly a good "match" for Nobu's music, as are so many other Nobu fans. Yes, Nobu's performance "resonates in our minds", and we will "always be fans and keep listening, no matter what."
But I do understand that there are people who value technique above all else, and perhaps this explains why critics and high-brows are so keen on pianists such as Mitsuko Uchida and Daniil Trifonov -- while ordinary me find their exaggerated performances insufferable.
To each his own. The world would be awfully dull if we all think alike.
Related articles
Nobuyuki Tsujii & the Kurotas
A kurota (?) came to Nobu's recital