The following article appears on the newly initiated medicitv.jp -- a section of mediciTV dedicated to Japan. The article is written by Japanese music writer/producer MAEJIMA Hidekuni 前島秀国
and shed light on what takes place at the almost-completed Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 Piano and Arts Concerts.
The original article was accessed today (December 3 2019) at
https://medicitv.jp/Review/Maejima_review/OaLLk
Mr. Maejima wrote the program note for the Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 Piano and Arts Concerts, at which Nobu performs solo pieces on the piano, to the accompaniment of images of art works projected on a large screen mounted in the back of the stage, above the piano. These concerts, performed only in Japan, have proved very popular. News and photos of the concerts can be found at Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 Piano and Arts Concerts.
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The original article is at https://medicitv.jp/Review/Maejima_review/OaLLk.
Below is an English translation of the text.
2019.11.28
November 24, 2019. Sold out (but most of the P seats are unused because of the screen installation). As one who wrote the the concert program notes and the CD + DVD liner notes, I can't critique objectively, but here are some of the things I felt as an observer.
Attempts to hold recitals while projecting paintings and artistic photographs on the screen on stage have already been pioneered by artists such as pianist Helene Grimaud and violinist Daniel Hope. This project can also be positioned as part of such a trend. But, in fact, this concert is not just a projection of still images. All the paintings used are bold zooming and framing, and in some cases, even including simple CG [Computer Generated] animation processing, and are displayed as a kind of “movie”. Moreover, the timing at which the paintings are switched (mostly transpositions and section breaks) is executed in real time, to match the tempo of Tsujii's performance. Very elaborate.
The [music] performance is "Three Great French Impressionism" by Satie, Debussy and Ravel. In addition to impressionists such as Monet and Renoir, paintings used include Hokusai and Hiroshige's ukiyo-e, which had a great influence on those painters, as well as Klimt, who was influenced by Japan. With the exception of Satie and Lautrec, or Debussy and Hokusai, the direct and indirect influence relationship between music and painting has not been pursued in depth. Finally, it should be considered that the impressionism and Japonism as artistic trends found in contemporary music and paintings are impressively linked. If we try to pursue it strictly, it will be too academic and it will be unacceptable to everyone.
Nonetheless, while this is not a setting to look only at paintings projected in the dark, it has the unexpected effect of [the audience] being more focused than at a regular concert. By their ethnic traits. people in Japan tend to place more emphasis on vision than hearing. Therefore, if one is “deprived” of one's vision in this way, one will be more focused on hearing. In a way, this may be a metaphor for how Tsujii himself perceives music.
Regarding Tsujii's performance: The work that made full use of the transcendental skill -- such as In Debussy “Image”-“Exercise” & Ravel “Jeux d'eau” in the first half, and Debussy “Isle of Joy” in encore -- left a strong impression.
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Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 Piano and Arts Concerts
and shed light on what takes place at the almost-completed Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 Piano and Arts Concerts.
The original article was accessed today (December 3 2019) at
https://medicitv.jp/Review/Maejima_review/OaLLk
Mr. Maejima wrote the program note for the Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 Piano and Arts Concerts, at which Nobu performs solo pieces on the piano, to the accompaniment of images of art works projected on a large screen mounted in the back of the stage, above the piano. These concerts, performed only in Japan, have proved very popular. News and photos of the concerts can be found at Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 Piano and Arts Concerts.
The original article is at https://medicitv.jp/Review/Maejima_review/OaLLk.
Below is an English translation of the text.
辻井伸行 音楽と絵画コンサート《印象派》＠サントリーホール
Nobuyuki Tsujii Music and Painting Concert “Impressionism” @ Suntory Hall
Hidekuni Maejima2019.11.28
November 24, 2019. Sold out (but most of the P seats are unused because of the screen installation). As one who wrote the the concert program notes and the CD + DVD liner notes, I can't critique objectively, but here are some of the things I felt as an observer.
Attempts to hold recitals while projecting paintings and artistic photographs on the screen on stage have already been pioneered by artists such as pianist Helene Grimaud and violinist Daniel Hope. This project can also be positioned as part of such a trend. But, in fact, this concert is not just a projection of still images. All the paintings used are bold zooming and framing, and in some cases, even including simple CG [Computer Generated] animation processing, and are displayed as a kind of “movie”. Moreover, the timing at which the paintings are switched (mostly transpositions and section breaks) is executed in real time, to match the tempo of Tsujii's performance. Very elaborate.
The [music] performance is "Three Great French Impressionism" by Satie, Debussy and Ravel. In addition to impressionists such as Monet and Renoir, paintings used include Hokusai and Hiroshige's ukiyo-e, which had a great influence on those painters, as well as Klimt, who was influenced by Japan. With the exception of Satie and Lautrec, or Debussy and Hokusai, the direct and indirect influence relationship between music and painting has not been pursued in depth. Finally, it should be considered that the impressionism and Japonism as artistic trends found in contemporary music and paintings are impressively linked. If we try to pursue it strictly, it will be too academic and it will be unacceptable to everyone.
Nonetheless, while this is not a setting to look only at paintings projected in the dark, it has the unexpected effect of [the audience] being more focused than at a regular concert. By their ethnic traits. people in Japan tend to place more emphasis on vision than hearing. Therefore, if one is “deprived” of one's vision in this way, one will be more focused on hearing. In a way, this may be a metaphor for how Tsujii himself perceives music.
Regarding Tsujii's performance: The work that made full use of the transcendental skill -- such as In Debussy “Image”-“Exercise” & Ravel “Jeux d'eau” in the first half, and Debussy “Isle of Joy” in encore -- left a strong impression.
***
RELATED ARTICLES
Nobuyuki Tsujii 2019 Piano and Arts Concerts