And so we have reached the end of another year -- my 8th year of "Nobu Fever"!
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PHOTO COLLAGE. Upper left: Nobu with Yutaka Sado in Austria, June; lower left: Nobu, Vasily Petreko and violinist Fumiaki Miura on Japan tour, May; upper right: Nobu in Iceland April; lower right: the changing of years -- photo source AARP
***
It is still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that in 2018 Nobu turned age 30. As Nobu himself jokingly put it in a recent ANA Magazine article: 「おじさんになっちゃったかな」"I have become an uncle" (In Japan, a middle-aged person is politely referred to as "uncle" or "aunt".) No worries, Nobu-kun! He can still easily pass for a college freshman, and his physical and mental strengths are in top form and not wearing out anytime soon.
The future is bright for Nobu as we head into year 2019. But, first, let's take a pause to take stock of the year that was.
![]()
PHOTO Nobu celebrates his 30th birthday on September 13 while on tour in U.S. with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
***
In 2018, Nobu served up yet another cornucopia of delights. Below is a rundown of what happened.
CONCERTS
Out of curiosity, I just did a quick count on the 2018 concerts listed on Nobu's Official Website, and here is the scoop:
Japan: 25 solo recitals; 25 orchestral performances; 11 ensemble performances = 61 total;
Overseas: 4 solo recitals; 15 orchestral performances = 19 total.
The overall total, then, comes to 80. (Not included are unofficial performances such as a special recital at Valery Gergiev's personal concert hall in St. Petersburg, and other private concerts). This is up from the 60 some concerts that Nobu performed in years past, but still a reasonable number. Pianist Mitsuko Uchida is quoted as saying, in a recent interview with the U.K. Guardian: “I am not an obsessive performer. My absolute maximum number of concerts is 55 a year. That’s tiny compared to most, who play at least 100, even as many as 140. That’s madness for me." I agree with her, and I hope Nobu will not be pressured into playing more concerts each year..
*FIRST HALF of 2018: U.K., Iceland, Vienna, Japan recital tour
The year started quietly for Nobu, after the fanfare of "Debut 10 years" celebration in late 2017 The pace picked up when Nobu traveled to U.K. and performed the Grieg Concerto and Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody with Vasily Petrenko & the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in U.K., February 1-4 . This was followed with the launch of a "Debut 10 Years" Japan recital Tour Feb 18- March 28, featuring on the program the 8 concert etudes by composer Nickolai Kapustin a first in Japan. In late April, Nobu traveled to Iceland and made his debut with Ashkenazy & the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and from there traveled to Liverpool again to perform Tchai l with Petreko & RLPO -- the performance was live-streamed and there is now a popular YouTube video of Nobu's encore of Kapustin's Etude No.1, with a current view count of over 300K views.
In May, Nobu played Mozart with Vladimir Ashkenazy at the Kanazawa "Spring Green Festival, before the launch of another successful RLPO Japan Tour May 11-19. In early June, Nobu performed with his long-time mentor conductor Yutaka Sado and his Tonkünstler Orchester. I saw them at theVienna Musikverein twice; Nobu's long-time piano teacher Professor Masahiro Kawakami was at the second performance, and I was thrilled that Nobu paid tribute to his teacher, a scholar in Kapustin's music, by playing the Kapustin etude for encore.
* SUMMER
Later in June, Nobu was a guest at the White Nights Festival of St. Petersburg of Maestro Valery Gergiev, a return appearance since his 2012 sensational debut there. In addition to wowing the Russian audience with a performance of Beethoven's "Emperor" (with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra) followed by a recital days later, Nobu was invited by Maestro Gergiev to perform in the conductor's own seaside private concert hall, to perform a special recital. Nobu's second appearance in St. Petersburg was a big hit, and he has been invited back for next year.
![]()
PHOTO: Nobu in the concert hall of Valery Gergiev in Repino, St. Petersburg, June 20.
Back in Japan, Nobu and his good friend violinist Fumiaki Miura appeared in 8 sold-out duo recitals that were wildly popular and had fans begging for more next year
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PHOTO: Nobu and Fumi at their duo recitals, summer 2018.
In mid-summer and amid a record-breaking heatwave, Nobu traveled to Europe for two summer festivals. The August 5 outdoor gig at the Culture Fair of Friedrichshafen, Germany was a steam bath. But the August 8 appearance at the Biarritz Piano Festival wowed the audience, a great success.
![]()
PHOTO: Europe summer festivals in Germany and France
The summer ended with Nobu appearing in the "THE PIANIST!" concerts with Fazil Say & Les Freres (August 29 -- Sept 9).
* FALL & WINTER
Nobu came to the U.S. to perform with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra September 14-21, the highlight of which was a concert at the Carnegie Hall, where he and the orchestra earned accolades from critics and audiences. U.S. pianist Linda was in the audience and shared with us her thrilling experience.
![]()
PHOTO: Nobu with the Orpheus in U.S., September
Returning to Japan, Nobu and violinist Fumiaki Miura teamed up as artistic leaders for the Ark Classics concerts. They were joined by an International cast. Not only did the performances packed the halls, but they were projected on large screen outdoors, drawing large crowds, a case study for classical music outreach.
![]()
PHOTO: The Ark Hills Concert Performers
In late October, Nobu returned to Iceland to make a performance of Rach 2. This was followed by a highly anticipated, 10-years-in-the-making tour with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in a highly successful Japan Tour November 3-18. 12 performances, 12 venues,11 cities; ambassador reception; celebration ... a fun time was had by all, and this was a Tour to Remember.
![]()
PHOTO: The Iceland Symphony Orchestra Japan Tour
In December, Nobu launched his 2018-19 Debussy-Ravel-Chopin Recital Japan Tour. But after just two shows, he had to jet off to Paris for a Satie-Debussy-Ravel-Chopin recital at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on December 17, amid worries of the "Yellow Vest" protests. I did not expect much, but judging from comments that came up, Nobu impressed a lot of people that evening.
***
VIDEO TREATS
We didn't get our Nobu video fix until October, and then the treats came in a torrent!
* On October 8, BS-Fuji aired the 8th show in their Nobuyuki Tsujii travel-series, with great footage from Nobu's Iceland visit back in April. Some clips from the show showed up on YouTube, and have received hundreds of thousands of views since.
Video Nobu plays 'Summer Time' in Iceland
* Two of the Fall Ark Classics were streamed on Medici TV and are still viewable on demand through Jan 13 2019 . Medici TV also posted Nobu's performance Erik Satie: Gymnopedies. In addition, BS-Asahi will air a New Year Day documentary about the concerts on Jan 1 2019.
VIDEO: Nobu's performance of Erik Satie: Gymnopedies, medici-TV
* Nobu's October 25 performance with Ashkenazy & the Iceland Symphony Orchestra was live streamed from Iceland in both video and on radio, and the performance can still be viewed on youTube.
* And, a year-end surprise! On December 27, Daiwa Securities, a major sponsor of Nobu's concerts, launched a promotional video, a commercial seen in Japan, "There are no places that cannot be reached. A story of believing in possibilities"
*Moreover, in just a few days, we can look forward to a batch of year-end TV shows and a radio appearance.
Seriously, people, we have got nothing to complain about.
***
CDs
The year saw the release of 2 CD albums.
Release date: May 9 2018
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These are both high quality albums that I treasure. Notably, they are both orchestral works, although the Iceland album does include three solo tracks of Chopin's nocturnes.
***
Memorable Words
The year saw its share of Nobu interviews, including one from Nobu's alma mater Ueno Gakuen University, and an excellent spread in the ANA in-flight magazine.
But the article that struck a chord the most is a terrific piece published by handicap.fr, with fresh and insightful observations from two organizers of Nobu's Paris recitals. The article hits many sweet spots, including this quote from Michel Mollard, one of the producers: "Nobuyuki Tsujii is first and foremost a great pianist. I think when you start to say that he's a blind pianist, you take the wrong direction right away. It's like saying that Beethoven was a deaf composer, it does not make sense."
![]()
PHOTO accompanying the article published by handicap.fr
***
NEW ADDITIONS TO HIS REPERTOIRE
Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody
8 concert etudes by Nickolai Kapustin
Chopin's scherzos 1, 3 & 4
These are all challenging works not for the faint-of-heart!
***
SO, another great year for Nobu and for us. Thank you, Tsujii-kun, for your hard work that brought us such great pleasures! And year 2019 already looks to be another exciting year -- please stay tuned.
***
RELATED ARTICLES
Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 New Year TV/Radio Specials
Nobuyuki Tsujii's "Evolution" to Adulthood. 4.11.2018 - Asahi Shinbum
PHOTO COLLAGE. Upper left: Nobu with Yutaka Sado in Austria, June; lower left: Nobu, Vasily Petreko and violinist Fumiaki Miura on Japan tour, May; upper right: Nobu in Iceland April; lower right: the changing of years -- photo source AARP
***
It is still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that in 2018 Nobu turned age 30. As Nobu himself jokingly put it in a recent ANA Magazine article: 「おじさんになっちゃったかな」"I have become an uncle" (In Japan, a middle-aged person is politely referred to as "uncle" or "aunt".) No worries, Nobu-kun! He can still easily pass for a college freshman, and his physical and mental strengths are in top form and not wearing out anytime soon.
The future is bright for Nobu as we head into year 2019. But, first, let's take a pause to take stock of the year that was.
PHOTO Nobu celebrates his 30th birthday on September 13 while on tour in U.S. with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
***
In 2018, Nobu served up yet another cornucopia of delights. Below is a rundown of what happened.
CONCERTS
Out of curiosity, I just did a quick count on the 2018 concerts listed on Nobu's Official Website, and here is the scoop:
Japan: 25 solo recitals; 25 orchestral performances; 11 ensemble performances = 61 total;
Overseas: 4 solo recitals; 15 orchestral performances = 19 total.
The overall total, then, comes to 80. (Not included are unofficial performances such as a special recital at Valery Gergiev's personal concert hall in St. Petersburg, and other private concerts). This is up from the 60 some concerts that Nobu performed in years past, but still a reasonable number. Pianist Mitsuko Uchida is quoted as saying, in a recent interview with the U.K. Guardian: “I am not an obsessive performer. My absolute maximum number of concerts is 55 a year. That’s tiny compared to most, who play at least 100, even as many as 140. That’s madness for me." I agree with her, and I hope Nobu will not be pressured into playing more concerts each year..
*FIRST HALF of 2018: U.K., Iceland, Vienna, Japan recital tour
The year started quietly for Nobu, after the fanfare of "Debut 10 years" celebration in late 2017 The pace picked up when Nobu traveled to U.K. and performed the Grieg Concerto and Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody with Vasily Petrenko & the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in U.K., February 1-4 . This was followed with the launch of a "Debut 10 Years" Japan recital Tour Feb 18- March 28, featuring on the program the 8 concert etudes by composer Nickolai Kapustin a first in Japan. In late April, Nobu traveled to Iceland and made his debut with Ashkenazy & the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and from there traveled to Liverpool again to perform Tchai l with Petreko & RLPO -- the performance was live-streamed and there is now a popular YouTube video of Nobu's encore of Kapustin's Etude No.1, with a current view count of over 300K views.
In May, Nobu played Mozart with Vladimir Ashkenazy at the Kanazawa "Spring Green Festival, before the launch of another successful RLPO Japan Tour May 11-19. In early June, Nobu performed with his long-time mentor conductor Yutaka Sado and his Tonkünstler Orchester. I saw them at theVienna Musikverein twice; Nobu's long-time piano teacher Professor Masahiro Kawakami was at the second performance, and I was thrilled that Nobu paid tribute to his teacher, a scholar in Kapustin's music, by playing the Kapustin etude for encore.
* SUMMER
Later in June, Nobu was a guest at the White Nights Festival of St. Petersburg of Maestro Valery Gergiev, a return appearance since his 2012 sensational debut there. In addition to wowing the Russian audience with a performance of Beethoven's "Emperor" (with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra) followed by a recital days later, Nobu was invited by Maestro Gergiev to perform in the conductor's own seaside private concert hall, to perform a special recital. Nobu's second appearance in St. Petersburg was a big hit, and he has been invited back for next year.
PHOTO: Nobu in the concert hall of Valery Gergiev in Repino, St. Petersburg, June 20.
Back in Japan, Nobu and his good friend violinist Fumiaki Miura appeared in 8 sold-out duo recitals that were wildly popular and had fans begging for more next year
In mid-summer and amid a record-breaking heatwave, Nobu traveled to Europe for two summer festivals. The August 5 outdoor gig at the Culture Fair of Friedrichshafen, Germany was a steam bath. But the August 8 appearance at the Biarritz Piano Festival wowed the audience, a great success.
PHOTO: Europe summer festivals in Germany and France
The summer ended with Nobu appearing in the "THE PIANIST!" concerts with Fazil Say & Les Freres (August 29 -- Sept 9).
* FALL & WINTER
Nobu came to the U.S. to perform with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra September 14-21, the highlight of which was a concert at the Carnegie Hall, where he and the orchestra earned accolades from critics and audiences. U.S. pianist Linda was in the audience and shared with us her thrilling experience.
PHOTO: Nobu with the Orpheus in U.S., September
Returning to Japan, Nobu and violinist Fumiaki Miura teamed up as artistic leaders for the Ark Classics concerts. They were joined by an International cast. Not only did the performances packed the halls, but they were projected on large screen outdoors, drawing large crowds, a case study for classical music outreach.
PHOTO: The Ark Hills Concert Performers
In late October, Nobu returned to Iceland to make a performance of Rach 2. This was followed by a highly anticipated, 10-years-in-the-making tour with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in a highly successful Japan Tour November 3-18. 12 performances, 12 venues,11 cities; ambassador reception; celebration ... a fun time was had by all, and this was a Tour to Remember.
PHOTO: The Iceland Symphony Orchestra Japan Tour
In December, Nobu launched his 2018-19 Debussy-Ravel-Chopin Recital Japan Tour. But after just two shows, he had to jet off to Paris for a Satie-Debussy-Ravel-Chopin recital at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on December 17, amid worries of the "Yellow Vest" protests. I did not expect much, but judging from comments that came up, Nobu impressed a lot of people that evening.
***
VIDEO TREATS
We didn't get our Nobu video fix until October, and then the treats came in a torrent!
* On October 8, BS-Fuji aired the 8th show in their Nobuyuki Tsujii travel-series, with great footage from Nobu's Iceland visit back in April. Some clips from the show showed up on YouTube, and have received hundreds of thousands of views since.
Video Nobu plays 'Summer Time' in Iceland
* Two of the Fall Ark Classics were streamed on Medici TV and are still viewable on demand through Jan 13 2019 . Medici TV also posted Nobu's performance Erik Satie: Gymnopedies. In addition, BS-Asahi will air a New Year Day documentary about the concerts on Jan 1 2019.
VIDEO: Nobu's performance of Erik Satie: Gymnopedies, medici-TV
* Nobu's October 25 performance with Ashkenazy & the Iceland Symphony Orchestra was live streamed from Iceland in both video and on radio, and the performance can still be viewed on youTube.
* And, a year-end surprise! On December 27, Daiwa Securities, a major sponsor of Nobu's concerts, launched a promotional video, a commercial seen in Japan, "There are no places that cannot be reached. A story of believing in possibilities"
*Moreover, in just a few days, we can look forward to a batch of year-end TV shows and a radio appearance.
Seriously, people, we have got nothing to complain about.
***
CDs
The year saw the release of 2 CD albums.
Release date: October 31 2018
Grieg Concerto and Rachmaninov Rhapsody CD with conductor Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic(RLPO) (2018)Release date: May 9 2018
These are both high quality albums that I treasure. Notably, they are both orchestral works, although the Iceland album does include three solo tracks of Chopin's nocturnes.
***
Memorable Words
The year saw its share of Nobu interviews, including one from Nobu's alma mater Ueno Gakuen University, and an excellent spread in the ANA in-flight magazine.
But the article that struck a chord the most is a terrific piece published by handicap.fr, with fresh and insightful observations from two organizers of Nobu's Paris recitals. The article hits many sweet spots, including this quote from Michel Mollard, one of the producers: "Nobuyuki Tsujii is first and foremost a great pianist. I think when you start to say that he's a blind pianist, you take the wrong direction right away. It's like saying that Beethoven was a deaf composer, it does not make sense."
PHOTO accompanying the article published by handicap.fr
***
NEW ADDITIONS TO HIS REPERTOIRE
Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody
8 concert etudes by Nickolai Kapustin
Chopin's scherzos 1, 3 & 4
These are all challenging works not for the faint-of-heart!
***
SO, another great year for Nobu and for us. Thank you, Tsujii-kun, for your hard work that brought us such great pleasures! And year 2019 already looks to be another exciting year -- please stay tuned.
***
RELATED ARTICLES
Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 New Year TV/Radio Specials
Nobuyuki Tsujii's "Evolution" to Adulthood. 4.11.2018 - Asahi Shinbum