Triumphant return to Tokyo after the Cliburn

Nobuyuki returned to Tokyo on June 9 and was met with over 30 TV film crews and a throng of admirers, who showered him with flower bouquets and affection.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090613a4.html

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Prize-winning pianist Tsujii humble amid Cliburn hype

Kyodo News

Nobuyuki Tsujii, a blind Japanese pianist who is sharing the first prize from the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, is relieved to be back home.

The 20-year-old pianist who says he rarely cries said tears welled up in his eyes when he won the Van Cliburn prize on June 7.

The achievement has triggered a rush of orders for his recordings, and his concert dates are all sold out.

About 10,000 copies of his CD "Debut" had been sold in the 1 1/2 years since it went on sale, but the prestigious prize more than doubled that number in just one day.

"There are only a few occasions where people pay so much attention to classical music," said an employee in charge of Tsujii's CDs at the record group Avex.

Tsujii, who was born blind, seems bewildered by the fuss.

"Although I am blind, I am satisfied as I can see with mental eyes," he said. His next objective is to become a "pianist of high caliber."

"I would like people to listen to my performance just as a pianist," he said.

Tsujii, born in Tokyo, was late in learning how to walk and speak. But while he was still crawling at the age of 27 months, he was also learning to play his toy piano.

He never felt comfortable without a piano nearby.

While traveling overseas, Tsujii heard a piano at a shopping center and approached it, hoping to play it and a sales clerk let him try it.

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Before the Cliburn, Nobuyuki had a concert scheduled for June 16 in Tokyo, where he was to perform works of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff with the National Philharmonic of Russia, conducted by Vladimir Spivakov, see http://www.nobupiano1988.com/news/images/090617.pdf

Tickets for this concert were snapped up and illegal scalpers reportedly sold tickets at ten times of the ticket cost.

Wrote a Japanese fan: "Yes, that concert took place. Since Nobu's victory made headlines everywhere in Japan, the concerts that took place right after he returned from the Cliburn all got sold out and it really became a huge social phenomenon."

And only days after this concert, Nobuyuki would appear in Germany, at the prestigious Ruhr Piano Festival.  Scroll down for a link to a report on that appearance.

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A video of Nobuyuki, looking very spiffy, at a Press Conference on June 10, 2009 in Japan, SankeiNews: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxR7lN75Z3M

A June 17, 2009 TV interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijNbkrMnvDo

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Prizewinner started on toy piano

Post at 6-9-2009 14:51

The Yomiuri Shimbun

After blind Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii shared the top prize with a Chinese pianist at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in the United States, his splendid achievement was lauded by many Japanese musicians who have watched his career since he was a child.

"He did really well to come so far, I was touched," said Yutaka Sado, 48, a conductor and a close friend of Tsujii for a decade. Last year, Sado produced a CD of a joint performance by Tsujii and the Berlin Philharmoniker, playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Sado said: "He [Tsujii] spent 10 times as long to memorize the piece than other people would have, and he was able to digest all of it, polishing every single note and entering a world of pure sound. Audiences are drawn and fascinated by that [his music]. I've never met such a passionate pianist before."

When Tsujii, 20, was in middle school, he sent a CD of himself playing the piano to Sado, politely asking him to listen to the recording. Sado duly obliged, listening to the CD while bathing. Sado was completely captivated by his music and said he found himself turning up the volume.

After that, Sado invited Tsujii to attend one of his concerts in Tokyo and also invited him backstage. Sado recalled Tsujii's rendition of a Chopin piece moving him to tears.

Yukio Yokoyama, 38, one of Tsujii's professors at Ueno Gakuen University said: "The profile of this contest [Van Cliburn International Piano Competition] is low [in Japan] as no other Japanese have won it before. However, it's a prestigious contest that is intended to draw professional musicians all over the world. It's a fantastic achievement that [Tsujii] is the first Japanese winner of this competition."

Yokoyama, who is also a pianist, added that he had heard from the judges of the competition that "Tsujii won, not because he was a completely blind pianist, but because we wanted to listen as musicians."

Tsujii's teacher said he was extremely gratified to hear such a comment. Yokoyama, who had been teaching Tsujii since he was in middle school, said, "Tsujii was born blind. Though he cannot read and sense the music, he was able to perform such a wonderful rendition through his imagination, that anyone would be surprised."

Yokoyama also added: "I think it must have been tough on him so far, however, this is just the start for him as a musician. I want him to start afresh and perform as a complete artist."

Tsujii was born in Tokyo. His father is an obstetrician and his mother, Itsuko, 49, is a former freelance announcer. When Tsujii was 2 years old, he displayed his special musical talent, playing on a toy piano in tandem with his mother's singing.

When Tsujii was 4 years old, he began serious piano lessons. Even though he could use musical scores written in braille, he memorized most of the pieces he learned by listening to them.

After he entered primary school, Tsujii's mother asked his music teacher if he had the ability to become a professional pianist in the future. The teacher told her: "Yes, he does. The rest is up to his parents."

This recollection was recorded in "Nobu Kantabire!" (Nobu Cantabile!), a book Itsuko wrote about her son and published by Ascom Inc.

When he was 10 years old, Tsujii made a spectacular debut when he played at a Shigeaki Saegusa special concert performing together with Century Orchestra Osaka. When he was 12 years old, he gave a solo recital at one of the smaller halls at Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Tsujii was invited to play at several performances aimed at young people that Sado conducted, including Young People's Concert and with Paris' Orchestre Lamoureux. Additionally, Tsujii also performed with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Itsuko, who came to the United States for the competition and was present to watch her son's triumph, expressed her joy and said: "In the final round, he was able to fulfill his dream of performing together with an orchestra. On top of that, he also received the highest honor. I'm lost for words."

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Blindness no disadvantage

At a press conference held after he was awarded his prize, Tsujii first expressed his appreciation to his parents, teacher and the local host family with whom he stayed. In the question-and-answer session, when he was asked about his blindness, he replied confidently, "I have never felt that [my blindness] makes it difficult to play the piano."

Tsujii also added he was impressed with the progress of Asian musicians and said, "The first and second places were shared by pianists from Japan, China and South Korea, which is very meaningful."

(Jun. 10, 2009)