Nobuyuki Tsujii in Sydney, May 2017 -- Part2

♪ BIG NEWS: Nobu's Chopin 2 performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra& Bramwell Tovey can be heard on Australia's ABC classic FM  on Sunday 28May at noon -- THIS SUNDAY => http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2017/05/28/4673857.htm

I have heard from Mr. Asano that  Nobu has returned home safely since "early yesterday morning." He now has a week's rest before resuming public performances.

♪ May 27 More "Nobu Fever" in Sydney
I made a translation of the parts specifically about Nobu => Even More "Nobu Fever" in Sydney

♪ May 26 Sydney's supersized dishes
Japanese music writer Yoshiko Ikuma was in Sydney for Nobu's performances, on assignment for an ongoing magazine series of articles.
In her latest post, she touches on something that strikes a chord with me
http://blog.yoshikoikuma.jp/?day=20170526
Indeed the meal portions in Berlin, Sydney and London are enormous, especially compared to the dainty presentations of plates served in Japan.  I can vouch for that. 
♪♪ May 26 シドニーオペラハウス鑑賞 Sydney Opera House appreciation
This Japanese blogger wrote a detailed account of his visit to the Sydney Opera House for Nobu's performance with Sydney Symphony Orchestra => https://pianotohikouki.com/sydney-opera-house/concert-hall/Nobuyuki-Tsujii
It is far too long to translate the whole article, but the numerous excellent photos are self explanatory and provides an excellent virtual tour of the famous venue. I can vouch for the accuracy.
Of Nobu's performance, the blogger wrote:
盲目という事でハンデを背負っている様に見られがちですが、今回の彼の演奏は本当に素晴らしかった！音質、メカニック共にこれだけエキスパートな実力を備えたピアニストは他にいないのではないでしょうか？ショパン/ピアノ協奏曲第2番を弾き終わった後、アンコールに「革命エチュード」を演奏されましたが、これまた完璧なヴィルトゥオーソで聴衆を湧かせていました。Although his handicap of blindness is obvious, this performance was truly amazing! There is no other pianist with as much expert skill in both sound quality and mechanics. After playing Chopin / Piano Concerto No. 2, he played an encore "Revolutionary Etude", which really made the audience spring up for his virtuosity.

私も、手の皮が剥がれるかと思うくらい拍手！これほど興奮した演奏会は過去に記憶がありません。本当にこういう若いピアニストが日本にいるなんて、嬉しい限りです。
I applauded so much that I thought my hands would peel! I cannot remember ever being so excited at a concert . It is my pleasure to witness such a young pianist from Japan.

The blogger also promises to next post about Nobu's recital.
    
♪ May 25  "A brilliant bouquet"Japanese music writer Yoshiko Ikuma was in Sydney for Nobu's performances, on assignment for an ongoing magazine series of articles. In her latest post, she wrote about the recital on May 22. => http://blog.yoshikoikuma.jp/?day=20170525   
I made an English translation of the entire post => Yoshiko Ikuma blog post on Sydney recital

♪ May 25  Nobu power!
The afterglow of Nobu's performances lingers in Sydney.
This blog post is by a Japanese male who lives in Sydney but never once set foot inside the Opera House until Nobu's performance. He bought the cheapest ticket and confesses that he knows nothing about classical music. But in the end he was impressed by the venue and by the music.
https://ameblo.jp/kuti-kuti/entry-12277720912.html (Kushida Kazuto blog)
An illustration of the power of Nobu to draw people to classical music.

 ♪Nobu Fever swept Down Under😀😍  
It seems Nobu Fever has gripped Sydney!
This came as a surprise. Last October, I was in Sydney for Nobu's Australia debut with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) (photo below, upper left), and, although it was clear that his performances were a big success, I chalked it up to the allure of the maestro and the orchestra for the drawing of a full Sydney Opera House crowd THREE days in a roll.
When word came last December that Nobu would, by invitation of the orchestra, return to Sydney in 2017 (as a substitute for pianist Helene Grimaud, who abruptly cancelled her Australia tour), I was somewhat nervous. Surely it is too soon for Nobu to go back, and to expect the Aussies to shell out for concert tickets.
How wrong I am! Two concerto performances and a debut recital in 4 days (May 19-22) -- it was a love fest for Nobu!  The Aussies really "get" Nobu.

Nobuyuki Tsujii in Recital!! Had the most perfect night. I am so lucky

There are not many classical musicians on the international circuit who could achieve the ‘legend’ status; whose concerts would be attended by adoring fans rushing to the stage at the conclusion of the recital, who would be referred to by a nickname, suggesting an ongoing relationship and familiarity with their fans. It does help to get to that level of fame if you win the Van Cliburn Competition (one of the most famous but also, most taxing piano competitions in the world) at the age of 21. If that phenomenal accomplishment is done by a young man who was born blind, it further adds to his renown.
...
However, the powerful sound of the Steinway on stage for this concert was most useful during the encores. The performances of Chopin’s “Revolutionary” Étude or another masterful “study”, Liszt’s La Campanella, brought the house down with their freshness, energy and impeccable execution.

FANS disappointed by French piano superstar Helene Grimaud’s cancellation of her much anticipated Sydney Symphony Orchestra tour need not have felt short-changed by the return of young Japanese virtuoso Nobuyuki Tsujii as her replacement.
The 28-year-old’s debut here last year playing Beethoven’s Piano concerto No.3 under Vladimir Ashkenazy’s baton caused a sensation, and the second visit of this musician, who has been blind from birth, was no less of a triumph with a fine performance of Chopin’s Piano concerto No.2 last week and a heart-warming and exciting recital of much-loved works at Angel Place.

... [Mr. Nick Asano is mentioned by name in the following text]

This is downright an embarrassment of richness - but yet one more review, this of the concerto
http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/reviews/performing-arts/dr-diana-carroll/nobuyuki-tsujii-plays-chopin-253790

He showed himself to be a phenomenal pianist, full stop. In fact, once he was led to the piano, adjusted his bench and aligned himself with the keyboard, his disability was forgotten. It soon became obvious why he’d won the gold medal in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009 against all comers and had gone on to carve out an enviable international reputation.

While Tsujii presented a conservative program comprising Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, his performance was anything but conservative. Technically, he is up there with the best, but when it comes to interpretation he does it his way.

He began with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Italian Concerto BWV 971, popular in the piano repertoire. Having been infant-fed on Glenn Gould, I found Tsujii’s reading leaned too much towards enthusiastic romanticism. But my liking for a drier, clearer dialogue between voices was obviously not shared by the audience which erupted in spontaneous applause when it was over. Having said that, I knew that we were in the presence of an exceptional pianist.

That was born out in the Mozart Sonata in B flat major, K570 where there were voices aplenty and the emergence of Tsujii’s huge tonal range – which is probably his most striking point of difference. He can go from thunder to the touch of a feather and never lose clarity. The Mozart also revealed another of Tsujii’s interpretive preferences: not to play slow movements too slowly. This particular Mozart Sonata has a long adagio middle movement that can drag. By speeding it up, Tsujii gave it a shape that cast a spell and prepared the listener for the sparkling allegretto that followed.

Virtually everybody who has learned the piano has played the first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight sonata (Op.27 No.2). There is a temptation to linger over it and ladle on the syrup. I remember English pianist Stephen Hough saying that it had to be played at a moderate trot and this is what Tsujii did, but submerged the repeated triplets to a murmur while gently enunciating the melody line. The result was transforming; t­he hackneyed had become suddenly fresh. After a pliable and satisfying second movement Tsujii turned the third into exhilarating bursts of power, interspersed with gentle respites. His Moonlight ranks as the best I’ve head – certainly live.

The program finished with another Beethoven sonata, the well-known Op.57 Appassionata. From a whispering start this built into a grand statement. The slow movement again received the hurry-up treatment that virtually reshaped it and led into a powerful and triumphant allegro ma non troppo final movement. Almost before the last note was sounded the audience was stamping, clapping and shouting ‘bravo’. This man had delivered a very exciting concert.

He was then generous with his encores which included Liszt’s La Campanella, Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude and the slow movement from Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata.

More from Nobu fan N:
I'm still feeling like having a dream to listen to Nobu's performances.
I'm very happy for Nobu to get such nice reviews.
I totally agreed with what they said. I felt his permanence was getting better and better each pieces.
"Bach's concerto was like listening to orchestra , Mozart's sonata was poetic ,"Moon light" was beautiful and "Appasionata" was even better!
I could hear Nobu's breathing at the end of the 3rd movement of Appasionata.
Audience gave Nobu foot stamping as well as loud applause, bravo and calling out "NOBU"!
Nobu himself might have tried hard to make Aussies happy , one of his suspenders came off from his trousers, and Mr.A fixed it few times during certain calls.
When Nobu sat down for the first encore and before starting to play it, one of audience (I think it was from far up at the third floor.)shouted out for "La Campanella ", and Nobu responded it!
The writer ( Peter McCallum) said that the waltzing Matilda was unexpected, but I knew it was coming. It was the new version, it was bit different from the last one in Oct last year, and it was fantastic too. Everyone loved it!
When everyone thought that 3 encores might have been all, few people started leaving, then Nobu came out with Mr.A, and Mr.A went back to behind the door which meant Nobu was going to play another one! People dashed back to their seat, and he played "Revolution".
Another certain call before shutting the lid...Nobu was so cute!

♪ May 22 7PM City Recital Hall  Bach-Mozart-Beethoven recital

♪ Nobu fan N & P were at the recital.  She wrote shortly after the performance:

yygall‏ @yygall5h5 hours ago(tweet)
     @sydsymph what a treat with Nobuyuki Tsujii tonight. Excellent program, and 4 encores! This recital will stay with me for years to come.

https://www.garow.me/media/1520207969109916142_1499428008
Classic night with Nobuyuki Tsujii #piano#classicmusic#cityrecitalhall#sydney#bach#mozart#beethoven#nobuyukitsujii#クラシック#ピアノ#シドニー#バッハ#モーツァルト#辻井伸行#angelplace  


https://www.garow.me/media/1520212633746241120_10705657 (Suzuki Piano Instagram)

 Nobuyuki Tsujii Piano Recital 🎶 #辻井伸行#pianoconcert#beethoven#bach#mozart#cityrecitalhall#nobuyukitsujii


https://www.garow.me/media/1520213025806029754_5401160339 with a similar photo
2017/05/22 17:58:56 @kaoru_syd
Mr. Tsujii, the blind pianist, is performing very soon💗so excited!!#tsujiinobuyuki#sydneyrecitalhall#辻井伸行#シドニーリサイタルホール

2017/05/23 07:52:20 @con_tse  Instagram
It's now one of my favourite piano concert!!! Love the song and his piano ❤️❤️❤️ #nobuyukitsujii#辻井伸行#ピアノ#コンサート#concert#cityrecitalhall#sydney#angelsplace#australia#sebastianbach

♪ May 21/22 A short but excellent Nobu video  by Australia's SBS World News
I wasn't aware of this promotional video for Nobu until just now when I came across a Japanese blog post that mentions it. The video was posted by Australia's SBS World News on May 18 (before Nobu's first performance in Sydney with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra​ last week). It has had 72K views and 1K likes, according to facebook. The footage of Nobu (including rehearsing with the SSO) seems to have been freshly filmed, probably soon after he arrived in Sydney after performing in Berlin.
The video is viewable on Facebook => https://www.facebook.com/SBSWorldNewsAustralia/videos/1557752687577708/ -- it is posted with this description and also with English subtitles of Nobu's speech: "There are great blind musicians but very few are like this Japanese pianist who's reached the highest level in the classical world."

辻井さんは去年、オーストラリア デビューを果たしたそうで、今回はシドニー シンフォニー オーケストラとのコンサートをオペラハウスで行ったそうです
...
目が見えない辻井さんは「聴覚」と「記憶力」を使ってピアノをマスターしていったそうです
自分に与えられた能力をフルに使って「自分が大好きなこと」を実践していく彼の生き方にはただただ感動です
Mr. Tsujii seems to have played a debut in Australia last year, and this time it seems that he performed a concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House
Mr. Tsujii, whose eyes cannot see, said that he used his "hearing" and "memory ability" to master the piano music.
His way of living practicing "my favorite things" with full use of the ability given to him is totally impressive.

Some of our Canterbury BMW customers enjoyed a night at the Sydney Symphony with a performance by the outstanding Nobuyuki Tsujii. #BMW

  ....  昨日は世界遺産「オペラハウス」でコンサート、2009年にヴァン･クライバーン国際ピアノコンクールで優勝した辻井伸行さんの洗練された演奏を聴いてきましたが、音質･メカニック共に完璧な辻井さんの演奏には、ただただ脱帽です！その模様などはまたいずれ記事にしたいと思います
Yesterday I listened to the sophisticated performances of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii at the World Heritage "Opera House." In 2009 he won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009. Both sound quality and technique are perfect in Mr. Tsujii's performance. It is just a hat! I would like to attend a program like that again.

So many great photos and comments pouring in from our performances with #nobuyukitsujii& #bramwelltovey! Remember to tag #sydsymph or @sydneysymphonyorchestra so we can find them. Thanks for the 📸@soojiskyekim