Nobuyuki Tsujii in Seattle, 2013, part 5

continued from Nobuyuki Tsujii in Seattle, 2013, part 4

CODA: In the April issue of the newsletter of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Nobu's performance was mentioned.

To top it off, on Feb 1 Friday, a heart-felt blog post by Assunta Ng, publisher of Northwest Asian Weekly, appeared. Assunta is my sister-in-law, but she was not a Nobu fan and, she is not easily influenced and she is not easy to please.

The original article, with many photos taken by my brother George Liu, can be read here: http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2013/02/blog-success-at-celebrate-asia/

One of the photos accompanying the article, shown here via Internet link

The text is copied below for preservation

Success at Celebrate Asia

Posted on 01 February 2013. Tags: 2013, Publisher Ng's blog, Vol 32 No 6 | February 2 - February 8

By Assunta Ng

Never in my life had a concert moved me to tears until I experienced the blind Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. I wasn’t the only one who cried.

“Music changed Nobu’s life, and his music changes our lives,” said a woman who also cried during the pianist’s performance, during Celebrate Asia at the Benaroya Hall last Sunday.

“When Nobu was playing, I was playing, too (figuratively),” said former NBA player Fred Brown, who was among the packed audience of 2,100.

Nobu was the highlight of the event and was featured during the second part of the program. Even though he is blind, he could hear and feel the audience’s energy, applause, and long standing ovations. His smiles and bows showed that he was touched.

The Right Music

Several people attend Celebrate Asia each year in the spirit of supporting a community event, not because they are the event’s natural fans. I was there simply to cheer the efforts of several Asian groups working tirelessly to bring the event together.

Going to symphonies is considered to be high class. I have to confess that I didn’t know how to appreciate the first three pieces in the program. It has nothing to do with the musicians. It has to do with the melody of the music.

<Photo: http://nwasianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/32_06/blog5.JPG

Presenting Sponsor Snoqualmie Casino and guests (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)>

No matter how many concerts I have attended, I am still unsophisticated when listening to classical music. When the music is too profound, I get lost. I am not surprised that five people that I talked to after the program shared my sentiments.

This was the second time I attended a Nobu performance. His first show, a solo recital, was also held at Benaroya Hall last Tuesday. Although he played Debussy flawlessly, I wasn’t excited at all. That night, I was more curious about his life and accomplishments than the music he was playing. A pianist playing sophisticated music, his fingers flowed from the highest to the lowest keys quickly, accurately, and without sight. Each tone was so perfect. How did he overcome his adversities?

During Celebrate Asia, however, Nobu played Tchaikovsky’s — music more familiar to a widespread audience. It was exciting and attractive. It shakes people up. You cannot ignore it. It goes right to my bones, my gut, and my heart. That’s the kind of music Celebrate Asia should pick from the beginning to the end of its program.

India’s Classical Violin

If you’ve heard Bollywood music, you would be surprised that the sound of Indian classical music is strikingly different.

Shanti Priya, a performance of the Indian violin and drums, accompanied by the 85 member symphony orchestra, was another piece that received a standing ovation.

The piece was performed by Indian violinist Ambi Subramaniam and drummer Mahesh Krishnamurthy. It was a novelty for most of the audience.

Ambi played with his feet on the raised stage and without chairs. The violin was hanging down above his chest, almost reaching the ground. I have not seen anyone play the violin in such a relaxed position — sometimes, he leaned forward as if he was going to lie on the ground.

The rich and interesting music mesmerized Celebrate Asia sponsor Eric Booker of the Snoqualmie Casino.

“We will sponsor again next year,” he said.

A Small Connection with Nobu

A year ago, my sister-in-law Mei-Ling Liu emailed us and asked if there’s any way Nobu could perform in Seattle.

My husband quickly thought about Celebrate Asia. He introduced Celebrate Asia founder Yoshi Minegishi to Mei-Ling. Minegishi had already heard of Nobu’s talents.

Mei Ling has no relationship with Nobu at all, she’s just a big fan.

Mei Ling found joy listening to Nobu’s music. A former piano player, she felt the urge to play the piano again.

She wanted to do everything in her power to spread the talent of Nobu to other parts of the world.

From Japan to London, Mei-Ling has followed Nobu’s performances across the world since 2009. We called her nuts, but Mei-Ling said Nobu’s music inspired her and saved her life. She has found passion after retiring from her days as a professor in computer science.

This is how you make things happen for the people you love. When you believe in something, take action. When you create paths for other people, you are actually opening doors for yourself that you could never have imagined. (end)

A Chinese version of the article, with photos shown below via Internet link, can be read here: http://bit.ly/XubCYO, and is copied below for preservation.

除了24歲的盲人鋼琴家辻井伸行(Nobuyuke Tsujii)演奏的柴可夫斯基(Tchaikovsky)第一號鋼琴協奏曲外，在我生活中就從來沒有哪一個音樂會，讓我感動得熱淚盈眶。

27日在西雅圖Benaroya交響樂廳舉行的2013年第五屆亞洲之夜(Celebrate Asia)音樂會上，除了有85人的管弦樂團演奏外，辻井的演出也是音樂會的一部份，一位女士在聽完他演奏後，流著眼淚說：「音樂改變了辻井的生命，他的音樂改變了我們的生命。」

前NBA總冠軍Fred Brown是當晚欣賞並享受辻井表演的2,100名觀眾之一，他說：「當辻井演奏時，我在座位上也用手指翩翩隨之。」他的表演是節目第二部份的重角，儘管他是個盲人，但能聽到和感覺到觀眾如雷的掌聲，大聲的歡呼和長時間的起立鼓掌。他的微笑和鞠躬表明他被感動了。

亞洲之夜音樂會創會主席Yoshi Minegishi表示，有西雅圖交響樂團伴隨舉辦的亞洲之夜音樂會，是一種完美的組合方式，本地的亞洲文化經此活動進入主流社會。

挑選合適的樂章

許多人參加亞洲之夜音樂會，不是因為他們喜歡音樂或懂音樂，而是秉著支持社區活動的精神去參加的，也和我一樣，都不是交響樂曲的樂迷。

我必需承認，我不知道如何欣賞在辻井演奏前的三個節目，因為這些樂章對一般人而言生疏難懂，無法起共鳴作用，反倒讓人昏昏欲睡。

儘管我參加過無數次的交響樂音樂會，但對古典音樂仍處在一個未知的領域裡。事實上，太深奧，層次太高的古典樂，對大多數觀眾而言會不知所聽。節目後我和其他五位朋友分享我的想法，他們的看法並不讓我感到驚訝。

這是我第二次參加辻井的演奏會。參加的第一次演出是22日他的獨場演奏會，也同樣是在Benaroya音樂廳。雖然他完美地演奏了德彪西 (Debussy)的作品，但並沒有引起我特別的感受，反而是關於他在生活和音樂上的成就，比起他的演奏讓我更加好奇：一位盲人鋼琴家如何能彈出如此複雜的樂曲，他的手指從最高到最低鍵，快速、準確移動，雙手交換迭遞地在鍵盤上飛快彈奏，每一個動作都如此完美。他是如何克服先天的障礙困境呢？

但是，當他彈奏柴可夫斯基的第一號鋼琴協奏曲，指間潑灑出強大飛躍的音符，震撼著每一位聽眾，令人無法忽視，直透我骨、我肺腑，我心。這才應該是亞洲之夜音樂會節目單上從頭至尾挑選的樂章啊！

印度古典小提琴

印度古典小提琴並不像印度寶萊塢經典電影音樂那樣，Shanti Priya演奏的小提琴和鼓，在西雅圖交響樂團陪襯共同演出下，表現另一境界和效果，獲得全場起立鼓掌。

由Ambi Subramaniam拉的印度小提琴，和鼓手Mahesh Krishnamurthy的演出，對大多數觀眾而言十分的新奇。我認為大多數人沒有意識到印度文化和音樂的豐富性，恰恰暴露了自己認為印度只有像寶萊塢那種音樂的淺見。

Ambi盤腳坐在升起的台上而不是坐在椅子上，小提琴從他的胸部上方垂下來，像是平放在台上。我沒有看到哪位小提琴演奏家，是在這樣一個輕鬆的姿勢下演出。有時候，他俯身向前，像趴在地上。這是一個有趣的、充滿活力的表演，至於聽到了多少他彈奏的音樂我並不介意。

辻井和我們之間的一個小鍵接

一年前，我先生的妹妹廖美玲送了封電子郵件，詢問辻井可以經由什麼方式能在西雅圖演出，丈夫立即想到亞洲之夜音樂會。於是，他聯絡該節目的創始人Yoshi Minegishi給美玲。

美玲和辻井沒有任何關係，只是他在加州的一個樂迷，但她要做的是以己之力，將辻井的才華傳播到世界的每個角落。從2009年起，她就跟隨著辻井從日本到倫敦的一連串在各地的演出，我們說她瘋了，但美玲說辻井的音樂鼓舞啟發了她，並拯救了她。在她從電腦科學教授退休後，因為看到了辻井表現和成就，讓她發現了自己對生命的熱情。再次拾回小時候學的鋼琴，並對鋼琴有了另一深層的體認和喜愛。

這就是成就你所愛的人的方式之一，不要只呆坐，要起而行之，經常為他人創建人生的道路。美玲就是這樣的態度和作法，在無形中也給自己開創了新的天地和生活。

Feb. 10, 2013

http://mimikurin.exblog.jp/19774866 <blog of a Japanese who migrated to Seattle in 2010>

クラッシックなどを聞きに行ってきました。

一番の目的は、辻井伸行さん。

良く知らなかったんだけど、一年に一回、CELEBRATE ASIAと言うものがシアトルにありまして、

５回目の今年のゲストが彼でした。

彼はバン・クライバーン国際ピアノコンクールで日本人として初めての優勝を果たした盲目のピアニストなんですよね！前から聞いた事はあったので、お友達にラッキーな事に誘われたので、長男と一緒に行ってきましたよ。

席はお友達と離れてしまったから、長男はおとなしく辻井さんの演奏を聞いてました。

感想『目が見えないのに、よくあんなに長い曲楽譜なしで弾けるね』

ピアノの善し悪しはよくわからない長男だけど、彼がすごいのはわかったみたいです。

最後はアンコールもして下さり、ほとんどの方がスタンディングオベーションして拍手喝采！

すごい人だな〜。それが日本人だなんて。嬉しいですね〜。

会場では着物を着てる方が一杯いました。

I went to hear and classic.

The main purpose, Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii.

I did not know well in Seattle an annual event called CELEBRATE ASIA,

This year was the fifth anniversary of the event.

Who's in it ? Blind pianist, the first Japanese who won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition! I was fortunate to have been invited there by a friend; I brought my eldest son along.

...

Oure seats were separated from the friends,

Eldest son was quietly listening to the music of Mr. Tsujii.

He was impressed that "someone who could not see can play such a long piece of music so well."

My eldest son was not sure about the quality of the piano,

but he knew that he was seeing something amazing.

After it ended and also the encore,

most people were applauding and giving a standing ovation!

People were amazed! I guess I was glad that I am Japanese....