"Nobu Fever" lives on - October 2012
Nobuyuki Tsujii would probably frown on this piece. I cannot image him doing what we call in English "blowing his own trumpet", "tooting his own horn", or, simply put, gloating about himself.
It is probably considered bad form to do this in Japan. But, hey, this crass and rabid American fan cannot contain herself.
The fact is, Nobu is doing great in Japan, and I want to record that in writing.
Today (October 24), an interview came up in Japan's Mainichi News ( 毎日新聞 Everyday News), which starts with this paragraph:
今や日本で最も人気のピアニストと言っても過言ではない辻井伸行。０９年のバン・クライバーン国際ピアノコンクール優勝後、コンサートチケットは完売続き。ロマンチックな作風の自作曲は映画やドラマに引っぱりだこで、作曲家としての評価も高まっている
It is not an exaggeration to say that Nobuyuki Tsujii is the most popular pianist in Japan now. After winning the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, the sales of his concert tickets have escalated. He has since extended to composing for movies and dramas. He is also growing in reputation as a composer for his original songs in the romantic style.
So true. As a fan keeping an eye on the happenings in Japan from afar, I have been rewarded with news, almost every day, that bring a smile to my face.
Concert tickets? Since his 2009 Cliburn gold medal, Nobu has sold out every one of his concerts in Japan -- recitals, ensembles, charity concerts -- without exception. You don't believe me? Just check the "Schedule" page of his official website http://www.nobupiano1988.com/schedule/index.html In particular, Nobu is currently on a Japan tour that takes him to 27 venues in 28 recitals of Debussy and Chopin music. The scope of the tour is ultra ambitious even by the standard of music-loving Japan, but every one of them has sold out, with the exception of three upcoming next year whose tickets have yet to come on sale. You wouldl strain your eyes to read the Japanese text in the photo below, but it is a screen grab of part of a web page maintained by Avex Classics for Nobu's 2012/13 Japan tour. You can count them, there are 28 stops, and do you see the characters in red in all but the last three lines? Those characters read 完売, SOLD OUT. Awesome, no?
Some stops -- especially those in far-out places like Okinawa or held in the middle of a business day -- took longer to sell out than others. But at some stops, the competition was fierce.
The image above was posted on the facebook page of the 宇部好楽協会 Association Koraku Ube of people lining up on August 11 for tickets to the recital on Oct. 21 in 山口 Yamaguch.. The tickets sold out in 30 minutes.
This billboard sat in the lobby at the Nagano stop on Oct 12 http://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/1299469/blog/28013783/
Nobu's popularity is such that he is headlining concerts in Japan with artists far more advanced to him in both age and experience. Next spring, he will perform with his long-time mentor, conductor Yutaka Sado, and the BBC Philharmonic on a 12-stops tour in Japan
I don't pay much attention to billboard rankings. But it is noteworthy that, at this moment, Nobuyuki Tsujii has three albums on the top classical chart of Billboard Japan. It should be noted that the classical music market in Japan is highly competitive, with established musicians vying with new comers as well as foreign artist for the attention of the discriminating audience. As you can see in the chart excerpted from the Japan Billboard site http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail/?a=classical on October 24: the mini-album "Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Flowers Bloom" is at No. 1; his "Mozart album" is at No.2; and his original composition album -- released back in August 2010 -- is at No. 12.
順位│前回
1
ジャケット写真│タイトル│アーティスト名
5
7
12
59
You have to take my words on this, but the chatters on the web about Nobu -- in tweets, in blogs, and in news -- are as numerous and passionate as ever, if not more so. There continues to be a steady stream of TV specials in Japan about him, including an excellent two-hour special "Nobuyuki Tsujii x Tchaikovsky" that was aired on October 6 (see "Nobuyuki Tsujii x Tchaikovsky" Fuji TV). Judging from web postings, those shows were very well received in Japan.
Yes, I am happy to say that "Nobu Fever" lives on still in Japan. I am happy for Nobu. And I hope it never stops.
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