Notable web postings - November 2017
Continued from Notable web postings - October 2017
Older notable web postings are collected at Notable web postings archival
CONCERTS
November 13 19:00 Suntory Hall
Special Concert for 10th Anniversary of Nobu's Début Album
November 22 - December 17
Music and Painting Concert Japan Tour
Nagasaki, Saga, Tokyo, Kamakura, Nagoya, Aomori, Tokushima, Ehime, Iwate, Osaka, Hyogo
CONGRATULATIONS to Nobu on his successful Debut 10 Years Concert on November 13.
By all accounts this was a phenomenal event. It was more than the "love fest" that I anticipated, Attendance of Japan's Emperor and Empress; a gathering of Nobu's supporters over the years; an "ecstatic" audience -- It is unthinkable for a classical musician to generate that level of support and enthusiasm anywhere in the world. Bravo, bravo!
A collection of news, comments and photos can be found at => Nobuyuki Tsujii 10th Début Anniversary Special Concert November 13 2017
♪ November 23 Getty Images photos from Special Concert
Getty Images posted 6 photos from the concert -- we have seen them before, but these are of exceptional quality -- thank you, Getty Images!
To see the original photos, please click => here
Below is a collage of three of them showing Nobu in performance.
♪ Thanksgiving presents! Year-end TV specials announced.
Just in time for our Thanksgiving, Nobu's website finally got an update, and it's great news --
As in years past, Nobuyuki Tsujii fans are treated to several TV documentaries about Nobu to be aired in Japan during the holiday season.
As one Nobu fan in Japan put it: "It wouldn't be New Year without seeing a Nobu TV special."
Thank you, thank you to Avex Classics, BS-Asahi and BS-Fuji!
♪ November 26 General Ticket Sales start at 10 for three stops on Debut 10 Years Japan Tour
General release for three shows starts 10AM this morning: Osaka 3/10; Miyagi 2/21; Hiroshima 3/8
And when I had a chance to check just now (about 2:30PM Japan time), here is the outcome.
Everything is sold out!
♪ November 17 English Wikipedia Page Updated
I just updated Nobu's English wiki page, adding new comments (from V. Ashkenazy & Takayuki Hattori); mentioning of new conductor & orchestra (Vladimir Jurowski & London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Tetsuji Honna & Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra) performed with, popular YouTube videos, and latest CD ("Debut 10 years").
♪ November 18 2018 Debut 10 years Japan Tour: "I should have gone for the advanced tickets"
Tickets for the February 23 Fukuoka stop of Nobu's 2018 Debut 10 Years Recital Tour came on general sale this Sunday morning 10AM in Japan.
This tweet came up at around 11AM:
https://twitter.com/nktu_20th/status/932053955542106113
辻井伸行チケット……惨敗！！！！！！！！！！！
ぬあああああ先行を逃さなければぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁ
"Crushing defeat! I should have gone for the advanced tickets."
My sympathy to the dejected tweeter. It appears that once again tickets sold out quickly for this recital (this is the one whose program includes works of Kapustin, Gershwin, and Satie).
This has happened to every one of the four stops that have come on general sale so far.
♪ November 17 Video of Nobuyuki Tsujii with the Shikoku Phil (September 24)
Back in September, Nobu appeared in the Kochi Prefectural Cultural Hall in a performance of .Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 with conductor Kazuki Sawawa and the Shikoku Philharmonic Orchestra. It was the only public performance of that month, Nobu's birthday month => Nobuyuki Tsujii with the Shikoku Phil (September 24 2017)
Today, Toyota Motor Corp, organizer of that concert, posted this tweet
https://twitter.com/TOYOTA_PR/status/931401529747050496
息をするのを忘れるほどに聴き入ってしまった… 世界的プロピアニスト辻井伸行さんが高知のアマチュアオーケストラと共演したとき、 奇跡のハーモニーが生まれました！ 詳しくはこちら
Listening, you forget to breathe ... When the global professional pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii co-starred with the Kochi amateur orchestra, a miracle of harmony was born! Please click to watch.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pW7bZtySug
【ACTION CLIP】トヨタコミュニティコンサート in 高知「高知に響け、奇跡のハーモニー。」Toyota Community Concert in Kochi "Echoing in Kochi, Harmony of Miracles."
♪ November 15 Debut 10 Years Album: #1 Chamber Music on Amazon Japan and temporarily sold out.
The album is reportedly also selling well on Rakuten, Japan's major online outlet.
♪ November 11 Free Discography Catalog -- update
The link that I posted yesterday to an Avex announcement no longer works.
But I found a better link => http://avex.jp/classics/news/detail.php?cd=TUJIN&id=1055478 NEW
with a photo of the front cover of the free catalog and a list of the stores where they can be found.
The photo is nicely done. It has the photo of Nobu's original "Debut" CD shown in the large under the title "NOBUYUKI TSUJII DISCOGRPAHY", next to the small photos of 14 CD cover photos lined up neatly in two columns.
♪ November 10 1,000 likes for our "Nobuyuki Tsujii Fans" Facebook Community
The community, created and managed by me to share Nobu news, has just reached 1,000 likes.
Of course, if it were run by Nobu himself, there would have been a million likes.
But we are proud hard-core international Nobu fans, and Nobu and his managers are aware of the community. That makes it all worthwhile!
A big thanks to all who visit the page!
♪ November 10 Debut 10 years commemorative discography catalog -- free in Japan stores
This Avex announcement just came to my attention:
http://avexnet.jp/news_detail.php?id=1055478
［ 辻井伸行 ］
CDデビュー10周年を記念して、カタログ冊子を無料配布中！
辻井伸行がプロの音楽家として生きてゆくことを決心し、
クラシックと自作の2枚組からなるデビューCD『debut』をリリースしたのは2007年10月。
今年、2017年10月でちょうど10周年の記念の年を迎えました！
皆様の多大なるご声援のおかげで、CDや映像(DVD、Blu-ray)の作品を
これまで多数リリースすることができました。
それらをまとめた全20P(表紙込み)のカタログ冊子を作成いたしまして
ただいま下記店舗にて無料配布中となります。
[Nobuyuki Tsujii]
In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of his CD debut, a catalog booklet is being distributed free!
Nobuyuki Tsujii decided to live as a professional musician,
In October 2007 we released his debut CD "debut" consisting of classic and original on two discs.
This year, in October 2017 we celebrated the 10th anniversary!
Thanks to everyone's encouragement, we have been able to release many CD and video (DVD, Blu-ray) so far.
We have created a catalog booklet of all 20 pages (including cover) that summarizes them
They are now in free distribution at the following stores ...
♪
♪ November 8 Debut 10-years Anniversary Album released in Japan
The " Debut 10-years Nobuyuki Tsujii" 2-disc CD album, issued in celebration of the10th Anniversary of Nobu's highly successful CD "Debut", is now in stores all over Japan. Overseas, the album can be ordered online from Amazon, CDJapan, etc. More info at=> Debut 10-years Anniversary Album
This twitter is one of the first to have received the album -- mine is crossing the Pacific Ocean just now ....
https://twitter.com/mitsuba_no_mori/status/927782374263341056
辻井伸行くんのアルバム。
DISC1も2も涙がでそうになる…。
コンサート、
何の心配もせずベストコンディションで聴きたいから終わってないタスクを猛スピードで片付けよう。
Album of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii.
DISC 1 and 2 will bring up tears ....
A concert,
Let's finish the chores because I want to listen in the best condition without worrying about anything.
The accompanying photo shows the album, in its jewel case, next to a striking white cat with blue eyes -- on what looks like a white comforter.
Tower Records Yokohama tweet
https://twitter.com/TOWER_Yokohama/status/927859411057491970
2017年１０月でデビュー10周年を迎えた #辻井伸行 さんのベスト・アルバム「debut 10 years」本日入荷致しました！これまでにレコーディングされたクラシック曲と辻井さんの自作曲を収録した聴き応えたっぷりの2枚組です♪（タ）
HMV Ikeburo tweet
https://twitter.com/HMV_IKE_CL_JZ/status/927830079500980224
【CLASSICAL】<入荷> #辻井伸行 デビュー10周年記念アルバム！これまでの華麗な音楽活動の中でレコーディングしてきた主要な作品を、『debut』と同じく、Disc1がクラシック曲、Disc2が自作曲という豪華2枚組のCDとしてリリース。当店では、巨大パネル展示中です！
Tower Records Shibuya tweet
https://twitter.com/TOWER_Shibuya/status/927813154133786625
【7F CLASSICAL】on sale!『辻井伸行/début 10 years』１枚目はCLASSICAL作品、２枚目はORIGINAL作品を収録した２枚組。今なら店頭でディスコグラフィーの小冊子をお配りしております。(富士)
♪ A steady stream of publicity article on Nobu aimed at readers outside Japan
Recently, there has been a steady stream of publicity articles for Nobu, apparently aimed at readers outside Japan.
I had thought the articles were advance promotion for his Paris recital, but they keep showing up even now.
Perhaps it has to do with Nobu's 10 year debut anniversary.
The latest is this one posted on a site called Japan Info.
The first sentence of the article is questionable, but the information conveyed is accurate, although nothing new to us. Still, it has to be a good thing for Nobu to get this kind of publicity.
Who Is This Japanese Pianist That Has Wowed the World Despite His Blindness?
Have you ever seen a blind pianist who plays music well? You might be surprised if you come to know Nobuyuki Tsujii – a talented Japanese pianist who plays music with sweetness, gentleness, and sincerity as if he is not visually impaired. His talent in music garnered him several awards including international ones, and his childhood experience highly contributed to his popularity as a celebrated piano virtuoso.
Let’s find out more about him! ...
♪A new concert -- Nobu to play Grieg's Concerto <= UPDATED
March 14 19:00 performance with Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra and conductor Tatsuya Shimono in Kagoshima
https://twitter.com/kagoshibunhall/status/926339262923997184 [ 鹿児島市民文化ホール Kagoshima Civic Cultural Hall]
【公演情報】 平成29年度ラストは「下野竜也指揮広島交響楽団 ピアノ：辻井伸行」公演をお届けします！ #広響 の音楽総監督となった #下野竜也 と #辻井伸行 の超豪華な組み合わせが、明治維新150周年を華やかに飾ります！1月21日（日）10:00から一般発売開始となります！
【Performance Information】 End of 29th year of Heisei era"Shimono Tatsuya conducting the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra -- piano: Nobuyuki Tsujii"
We will deliver a performance of the ultra luxurious combination of Tatsuya Shimono, General Director of music, and Nobuyuki Tsujii, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Meiji Restoration!
General release will start from 10:00 on January 21 (Sun)!
Tatsuya Shimono was/is a professor at Nobu's university.
This morning I found a page with details of the concert => http://www.k-kb.or.jp/shibun/sou/jisyu/h29jisyu/h29jisyu8.html
and below is the concert program
郡山 脩 ：えらぶの歌
グリーグ：ピアノ協奏曲イ短調 作品16
ドヴォルザーク：交響曲第9番 ホ短調 作品95『新世界より』
Koriyama Tamaki: Selection of Songs
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor 16
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor art work 95 "From the New World"
♪ November 4 Nobu is now on U.K. ticket site -- but buyers beware!
I suppose we can consider this as yet another milestone in Nobu's career.
It is not easy to get tickets for Nobu's performances in Japan from overseas.
Besides the language barrier, it is difficult to get around the scarcity and not being able to use foreign credit cards.
So I was happy to see what seems to be a U.K. site that sells tickets for some of Nobu's concerts in Japan.
https://www.viagogo.co.uk/Concert-Tickets/World-Music/Nobuyuki-Tsujii-Tickets
Currently, tickets are available from there for three of the 2018 performances with the Liverpool Phil, for example.
However, I checked reviews for the site, and they seem very negative. It seems the site overcharges and ticket delivery is a problem.
So, as tempting as it is, I would recommend CAVEAT EMPTOR (BUYERS BEWARE)!
♪ November 1 A Pianist/Teacher's blog post
Because news has been slow and because I put in considerable effort to understand what is said, I will share below a rough translation of a blog post that came up today.
https://ameblo.jp/shiawasedesu/entry-12325276308.html (blog of Megumi (Megumu Fujii), Hokkaido professional pianist and teacher)
[Embedded: YouTube Video of a performance of Nobu of Chopin's Andante Spianato, Grande Polonaise, which was on his Paris recital program.]
In today's lesson,
I want to discuss a statement made by Professor Shimizimi,
who talks on a daily basis: "To play by touching" (even though he acknowledges that it is a nice touch)
as Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii is able to do,
that he [the professor] can feel the difference keenly when looking at videos of different players.
But because of that [playing by touching] -- I have to say this sour my mouths on a daily basis --
The musical expression made for each voice part cannot be properly transmitted [by Nobu].
So that's it [according to the professor].
First of all, Mr. Tsujii cannot see with his eye,
yet it is possible for him to play where the sound jumps at a fast tempo without a break in the speed.
It is possible because he touches and checks for a second before starting playing;
Because it is done so,
he also uses his touch differently
and the voice is expressed quite differently.
Regarding expression by type of voices
To be able to play a lot of works, there are not enough music scores in Braille
so his teacher recorded the notes on audio, and Mr. Tsujii learns by listening to the recordings, according to what I read.
He learns the voice correctly and the music stays in his head.
Since taste varies and it is natural to have people who likes and dislikes some music,
any talk of such likes and dislikes is irrelevant.
In any case, I make my decision based on musical expressions.
And, on that basis, his playing without being able to see is solidly done.
And his music is transmitted straightforwardly.
Then, for those for us who are sighted,
we should not be ashamed of being able to see with your eyes
and being able to make large leaps quickly.
We cannot help seeing with our eyes.
Many people sing in their heads while touching and playing.
It is possible to "do our best even if we can see with our eyes."
(It is strange to say it, in this case being sighted becomes a handicap.)
Try listening to a recording of your playing and discern the touch and delay in quick jumps.
It is different from trying hard, don't you think?
Philosophically, sometimes a handicap can become a blessing.
Additional notes
Touching is not a final goal but a starting point.
If the touching is too deep, or if you strike at too fast a speed,
It becomes a rugged sound.
Depending on the direction in which you are aiming (direction in which energy works)
the sound quality will change.
The impact on the hand also makes a difference.
The level of touch is also relevant.
Striking the surface of the keyboard to the extent that it does not produce noise.
Striking from a level nearby can dramatically reduces mis-hits.
Level that allows delicate movements on the keyboard
There are various stages.
♪ ♪