From Japan came this thread of two tweets posted on September 23 2018
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https://twitter.com/PAGANINI_Nicolo
It is unusual to see postings like this coming from Japan. I think his questions are actually in the back of the minds of many people in Japan, but their reserved culture and good manners usually preclude such talk. I, being of the unabashed American culture, actually welcome these points being brought up in the open, and would like to address them, in English, below, which I hope is understandable to @PAGANINI_Nicolo.
What @PAGANINI_Nicolois really trying to say in his tweets, is -- to put it bluntly -- that Nobu, highly regarded by some as he may be in Japan, cannot be world-class because (1) he has yet been invited to perform with many major orchestras overseas and (2) he has not signed with a world-famous record label.
To start, the definition of "a major orchestra" is strictly subjective. I submit that with the high standard of orchestra players everywhere in the world these days, the differentiation among well-staffed orchestras is elusive. Connoisseurs would argue that they hear distinctions between the Berlin Philharmonic (with which Nobu has not performed) and the German Symphony-Orchestra Berlin (with which Nobu has performed), and there is no question which orchestra is considered more prestigious. But prestige, in classical music, is often more a function of publicity, connection and money power than musicality and performance.
Second, being invited to perform with "a major orchestra" is not necessarily a reflection of the caliber of a soloist. Who gets invited to perform with the likes of the Vienna Phil, the Berlin Phil or the New York Phil, etc. has more to do with business than musicality. Which contemporary young Asian performers get to play with the Berlin Phil? Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Seong-Jin Cho come to mind. What do they have in common? (1) they signed with Deutsche Grammophon (DG), and (2) they studied at a conservatory abroad and are based in U.S./Europe. Tsujii does not fit that description
This leads to the second point raised by @PAGANINI_Nicolo: If he's that good, why didn't Nobu sign with a "major label "like Deutsche Grammophon, but instead with Avex Classics, which does not have a large presence overseas?
The answer is related to the last point. The young Asian performers that DG have signed are those who have been inculcated in the Euro-American culture and who are amenable to having their images engineered by Deutsche Grammophon. Nobuyuki Tsujii, by contrast, is a complete product of Japan -- in a good way. He is not comfortable with communicating in English (although I suspect he understands English better than he lets on); his mannerism and outlook is 99% if not 100% Japanese. And, his blindness requires special accommodations, especially while on tour.
Nobu, I submit, would be a complete misfit for a label like DG, Avex Classics, on the other hand, provides the Japanese managers who are masterful in promoting Nobu in Japan and who also provide the personal touch that he needs, including traveling with him overseas to concerts arranged by foreign talent agencies, currently the very reputable U.K. based Harrisonparrott.
The truth is, there is something unique about Nobu: his blindness. It should not be an issue and it is not to those of us who have come to fully appreciate his artistry regardless of his handicap. It will not be spoken openly, but my sense is that Nobu being blind is an issue with some orchestras -- in particular the so called "top orchestras." Some conductor/orchestra may, understandably, have genuine reservations about the logistics of performing with a blind soloist. A more insidious reason may be the stigma of whether someone born blind can truly play great classical music, whether bringing a sightless soloist on stage creates a spectacle unbecoming to the august tradition of classical music.
It takes guts for a conductor and an orchestra to perform with someone as extraordinary as Tsujii. Over the years, Nobu has managed to garner the respect of conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vasily Petrenko, and Marco Letonja to become repeated partners with them. (He has also had a long association with the conductor-less Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has just performed in the U.S.) These conductors respect Nobu's talent and are willing to direct their orchestras to accommodate his handicap. In exchange, Nobu rewards them with thrilling performances in which "he never fails to deliver with an exclamation mark," as Masetro Gergiev put it.
In this world, the classical music market is minuscule. The audience is tiny. The concert halls are expensive. It is an extremely competitive business. I am no insider, but it seems to me that there are turfs and fractions within the market: performers dominate the major stages in some cities of some countries, but are little known elsewhere. Such is the case of Nobu. By my calculation, in recent years Nobu has probably sold more concert tickets -- mostly in Japan -- than most other (if not all other) classical pianists. It is true that you may not see Nobu touted in high-brow magazines -- including the foreign-centric Japanese journals -- preconception and ingrained mindsets are hard to turn around. But Nobu is a force in classical music, and those in the business know it.
I used to wish with all my heart for Nobu to come to the U.S. -- my country -- and perform with the "top orchestras." He hasn't. But it no longer bothers me -- I travel to Europe and Japan to see him. And it shouldn't bother people in Nobu's own country either. In this day and age, there is no need for Japan (or any other country, for that matter) to require the validation of the West to appreciate a true talent of their own.
I am not Japanese, and I am here to tell Mr. @PAGANINI_Nicolo this: Nobuyuki Tsujii is a treasure of Japan. His talent is unique. His performance is breathtaking. His music is spellbinding. He is good -- plenty good enough to play with any orchestra.
https://twitter.com/PAGANINI_NicoloPAGANINI_Nicolo
@PAGANINI_Nicolo
辻井伸行、その演奏を賛美していらっしゃる方々に申しますがね。各国の主だったオーケストラとの共演歴は殆ど、全くと言ってよい程ありませんよ。
そんなにあなた方が仰る様に彼の演奏、音楽性が素晴らしいなら何故、彼がavexなどと契約する前に世界の名だたるレーベルが彼と契約を結ばなかったのでしょうか。そしてavexはクラシック音楽の審美眼に優れたレーベルですか。
[Nobuyuki Tsujii , I would like to tell the people who praise his performance: There is not a good deal of history of his co-starring with the major orchestras of each country.
If you like his way so much, if his performance and musicality is so wonderful -- why didn't the world's famous labels sign with him before he signed with avex? Is Avex a top label for classical music?]
@PAGANINI_Nicolo
辻井伸行、その演奏を賛美していらっしゃる方々に申しますがね。各国の主だったオーケストラとの共演歴は殆ど、全くと言ってよい程ありませんよ。
そんなにあなた方が仰る様に彼の演奏、音楽性が素晴らしいなら何故、彼がavexなどと契約する前に世界の名だたるレーベルが彼と契約を結ばなかったのでしょうか。そしてavexはクラシック音楽の審美眼に優れたレーベルですか。
[Nobuyuki Tsujii , I would like to tell the people who praise his performance: There is not a good deal of history of his co-starring with the major orchestras of each country.
If you like his way so much, if his performance and musicality is so wonderful -- why didn't the world's famous labels sign with him before he signed with avex? Is Avex a top label for classical music?]
It is unusual to see postings like this coming from Japan. I think his questions are actually in the back of the minds of many people in Japan, but their reserved culture and good manners usually preclude such talk. I, being of the unabashed American culture, actually welcome these points being brought up in the open, and would like to address them, in English, below, which I hope is understandable to @PAGANINI_Nicolo.
What @PAGANINI_Nicolois really trying to say in his tweets, is -- to put it bluntly -- that Nobu, highly regarded by some as he may be in Japan, cannot be world-class because (1) he has yet been invited to perform with many major orchestras overseas and (2) he has not signed with a world-famous record label.
To start, the definition of "a major orchestra" is strictly subjective. I submit that with the high standard of orchestra players everywhere in the world these days, the differentiation among well-staffed orchestras is elusive. Connoisseurs would argue that they hear distinctions between the Berlin Philharmonic (with which Nobu has not performed) and the German Symphony-Orchestra Berlin (with which Nobu has performed), and there is no question which orchestra is considered more prestigious. But prestige, in classical music, is often more a function of publicity, connection and money power than musicality and performance.
Second, being invited to perform with "a major orchestra" is not necessarily a reflection of the caliber of a soloist. Who gets invited to perform with the likes of the Vienna Phil, the Berlin Phil or the New York Phil, etc. has more to do with business than musicality. Which contemporary young Asian performers get to play with the Berlin Phil? Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Seong-Jin Cho come to mind. What do they have in common? (1) they signed with Deutsche Grammophon (DG), and (2) they studied at a conservatory abroad and are based in U.S./Europe. Tsujii does not fit that description
This leads to the second point raised by @PAGANINI_Nicolo: If he's that good, why didn't Nobu sign with a "major label "like Deutsche Grammophon, but instead with Avex Classics, which does not have a large presence overseas?
The answer is related to the last point. The young Asian performers that DG have signed are those who have been inculcated in the Euro-American culture and who are amenable to having their images engineered by Deutsche Grammophon. Nobuyuki Tsujii, by contrast, is a complete product of Japan -- in a good way. He is not comfortable with communicating in English (although I suspect he understands English better than he lets on); his mannerism and outlook is 99% if not 100% Japanese. And, his blindness requires special accommodations, especially while on tour.
Nobu, I submit, would be a complete misfit for a label like DG, Avex Classics, on the other hand, provides the Japanese managers who are masterful in promoting Nobu in Japan and who also provide the personal touch that he needs, including traveling with him overseas to concerts arranged by foreign talent agencies, currently the very reputable U.K. based Harrisonparrott.
The truth is, there is something unique about Nobu: his blindness. It should not be an issue and it is not to those of us who have come to fully appreciate his artistry regardless of his handicap. It will not be spoken openly, but my sense is that Nobu being blind is an issue with some orchestras -- in particular the so called "top orchestras." Some conductor/orchestra may, understandably, have genuine reservations about the logistics of performing with a blind soloist. A more insidious reason may be the stigma of whether someone born blind can truly play great classical music, whether bringing a sightless soloist on stage creates a spectacle unbecoming to the august tradition of classical music.
It takes guts for a conductor and an orchestra to perform with someone as extraordinary as Tsujii. Over the years, Nobu has managed to garner the respect of conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vasily Petrenko, and Marco Letonja to become repeated partners with them. (He has also had a long association with the conductor-less Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has just performed in the U.S.) These conductors respect Nobu's talent and are willing to direct their orchestras to accommodate his handicap. In exchange, Nobu rewards them with thrilling performances in which "he never fails to deliver with an exclamation mark," as Masetro Gergiev put it.
In this world, the classical music market is minuscule. The audience is tiny. The concert halls are expensive. It is an extremely competitive business. I am no insider, but it seems to me that there are turfs and fractions within the market: performers dominate the major stages in some cities of some countries, but are little known elsewhere. Such is the case of Nobu. By my calculation, in recent years Nobu has probably sold more concert tickets -- mostly in Japan -- than most other (if not all other) classical pianists. It is true that you may not see Nobu touted in high-brow magazines -- including the foreign-centric Japanese journals -- preconception and ingrained mindsets are hard to turn around. But Nobu is a force in classical music, and those in the business know it.
I used to wish with all my heart for Nobu to come to the U.S. -- my country -- and perform with the "top orchestras." He hasn't. But it no longer bothers me -- I travel to Europe and Japan to see him. And it shouldn't bother people in Nobu's own country either. In this day and age, there is no need for Japan (or any other country, for that matter) to require the validation of the West to appreciate a true talent of their own.
I am not Japanese, and I am here to tell Mr. @PAGANINI_Nicolo this: Nobuyuki Tsujii is a treasure of Japan. His talent is unique. His performance is breathtaking. His music is spellbinding. He is good -- plenty good enough to play with any orchestra.