strait_times_cd_2010

http://pianofortephilia.blogspot.com/2010/10/cd-reviews-straits-times-october-2010_22.html

Friday, October 22, 2010

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, October 2010)

CHOPIN Piano Concerto No.1

Twelve Études Op.10 / Berceuse

NOBUYUKI TSUJII, Piano

Fort Worth Symphony / JAMES CONLON

Harmonia Mundi 907547

*****

History was made when 20-year-old Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, who had been blind since birth, shared 1st prize at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009. These “live” recordings from the preliminary and final rounds captured something special - the triumph of the human spirit over handicap and adversity. Tsujii, who learnt his Chopin by ear with the help of a teacher, communicates with much urgency and immediacy. There is nothing that is mechanical or over-studied in his playing, even if his steadiness is at times unnerving.

In the concerto, he is attentively partnered by the Texan orchestra, and together they draw tumultuous applause from the audience. He whips off the Études, cruel finger-twisters even for the sighted, with a natural ease and stunning accuracy. Those who seek “perfection” will favour studio recordings of these works, but the spontaneity displayed here – in spite of some rough spots - is close to miraculous. One will already have favourites in Argerich, Pollini, Zimerman or Perahia, but this is worth keeping if only to remind us of the joy of being alive.