CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Performance
Thursday, November 10, 2011 | 8 PM
Nobuyuki Tsujii
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Seating
Chart
He was a sensation at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth, Texas—its first Japanese-born Gold Medalist. Be among the first to hear Nobuyuji Tsujii him in recital on the Carnegie Hall stage.
Performers
- Nobuyuki Tsujii, Piano
Gold Medalist, Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
New York Recital Debut
Program
- MUSTO Improvisation and Fugue
- BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2, "The Tempest"
- LISZT "Un sospiro" from Trois études de concert, No. 3
- LISZT Rigoletto, Concert Paraphrase for Piano
- MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition
Encores:- FOSTER "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" (arr. Tsujii)
- CHOPIN Prelude in D-flat Major, Op. 28, No. 15
- NOBOYUKI TSUJII Elegy for the Victims of the Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011
Bios
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Nobuyuki Tsujii
Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii-affectionately referred to as "Nobu" by his friends and
fans-captured the hearts and imaginations of music lovers throughout the world with his
gold medal-winning performances at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano
Competition in 2009.
Acclaimed for his heartfelt and inspiring performances, Nobu enchants audiences with his
expressive lyricism and astonishing technique. In high demand by presenters and orchestras,
he has performed sold-out concerts around the world and has catapulted to rock-star fame in
Japan. Since 2009, Nobu has made over 100 recital and concerto appearances in North
America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Highlights of the 2011-2012 season include his
solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall, London debut with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the
Philharmonia Orchestra, and a return engagement with the BBC Philharmonic at The
Bridgewater Hall.
The harmonia mundi label released a CD of Nobu's Van Cliburn Competition performances,
which was named "Critic's Choice" by Record Geijutsu, Japan's leading classical
music magazine. Another disc, an all-Chopin recording of his competition performances, was
released in July 2010. Additionally, Nobu's six bestselling records on the Avex label
include recordings with the BBC Philharmonic and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin,
both conducted by Maestro Yutaka Sado. A documentary detailing his achievement at the Van
Cliburn International Piano Competition aired across Japan on NHK; Nobu is also featured in
Peter Rosen's award-winning documentary of the 2009 competition, A Surprise in
Texas.
Blind since birth, Nobu believes that "there are no barriers in the field of music." His
philosophy was first affirmed at the age of seven when he was named first-prize winner at
the All Japan Blind Students Music Competition. At the age of 12, he made his recital debut
at Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Four years later in 2005, Nobu earned the Critics' Award at the
15th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.
Nobu recently graduated from Ueno Gakuen University, studying under the guidance of
Masahiro Kawakami, Yukio Yokoyama, and Kyoko Tabe.
More Info
Audio
Liszt's Paganini Etude No. 3, "La Campanella"
Nobuyuki Tsujii, Piano
Harmonia Mundi
Liszt's Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke, S 514 "Mephisto Waltz no 1"
Nobuyuki Tsujii, Piano
Challenge Classics
At a Glance
JOHN MUSTO Improvisation and Fugue
John Musto’s
Improvisation and Fugue draws inspiration from the blues. In place of the
traditional prelude, the improvisation develops a few measures of material over
four sections that are each successively faster, while the fugue subject weaves
its way through a dense thicket of independent musical lines.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 17 in D
Minor, Op. 31, No. 2, “The Tempest”
Beethoven’s
“Tempest” Sonata is one of the first works to represent what the composer
himself described as a new path; it marks the beginning of his “heroic” period.
The striking first theme juxtaposes two contradictory musical ideas, while the
restless second motif justifies the work’s stormy nickname.
FRANZ LISZT “Un sospiro” from Trois études de concert,
No. 3; Rigoletto,
Concert Paraphrase for Piano
Franz Liszt—one of
the great 19th-century virtuoso composers—wrote etudes and operatic paraphrases
for his own concerts. The Three Concert Etudes are showpieces that demonstrate
specific techniques: “Un sospiro” focuses on arpeggios and hand-crossings. The
operatic paraphrase on Rigoletto capitalizes on beloved tunes that are
re-dressed in pianistic bravado.
MODEST MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition
Mussorgsky’s Pictures
at an Exhibition was inspired by an actual show of artwork by Viktor
Hartmann. Each of the movements depicts a specific painting or drawing; they
are linked together by a promenade theme that indicates the composer’s walk
through the gallery.
Program Notes