Continued from Notable web postings -- January 2021 

More archival of past postings can be found at Notable web postings archive 

Upcoming concerts

January 31 - February 18 "Romantic" recitals Japan Tour

POSTINGS

February 24 Just announced: Nobuyuki Tsujii and his good friend violinist Fumiaki Miura, along with the ARK Sinfonietta Sinfonita, will reprise Beethoven & Mozart works performed at previous ARK Classics Festivals.  Four concerts will be held at June 4 - 9.  More at Nobuyuki Tsujii x Fumiaki Miura x ARK Sinfonietta June 2021 concerts 

February 21  www.instagram.com/p/CLjS1u8jMER/  Stay Home Birthday 🎂The vegetable terrine and Basque-style cheesecake are my own. Suzuki and scallop mousse is by Treffe Miyamoto, back-ordered. The champagne is vintage Laurent Perrier 🍾 from Uno Kanda. Last year we had a major celebration at the third coming-of-age ceremony [60th birthday], but this year we stayed home quietly. " From International Fans of Nobuyuki Tsujii: Happy birthday to Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii -- we are indebted to you for the gift of your extraordinary son.

February 20 Twitter Yura shared a clip from the 音楽の友ONTOMO [Friends of Music] magazine show. twitter.com/icoyuraco/status/1363059148754022403 "Music journalist Yoshiko Ikuma includes Nobuyuki Tsujii under the the theme of 'Pianists and works you want to listen to when you want to get well'. 'He has a beautiful sound. Even with transcendental skill, it does not feel like he is struggling but he is having fun playing. A listener will feel fine."

February 19 NEW ON YOUTUBE - A collage of scenes of Nobuyuki Tsujii practicing.  Someone took the time to put together footage of scenes of Nobu in practice, extracted from various documentaries.  00:00​ | Liszt / Piano Concerto; 01:07​ | Gershwin / Rhapsody in Blue; 01:36​ | Chopin / Piano Concerto No. 1; 03:00​ | Practice with recording tape; 03:50​ | Beethoven / Emperor; 05:12​ | Rachmaninoff / Piano Concerto No. 3; 07:19​ | Prokofiev / Piano Concerto No. 3; 09:52​ | At the Steinway Piano Factory; 13:21​ | Tchaikovsky / Piano Concerto; 15:09​ | Chopin Competition; 16:26​ | Mozart / Turkish March.

February 18 A tweeter wrote:  "I like Mazeppa & listen it to death ... I always tear up from around 6 min when I listen with a little more feeling. This piece is a good fit for the piano of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii. Liszt Transcendental Etude no. 11 'Harmonies du Soir' " I don't think this video youtu.be/CrSQhj6pjIc  gets the attention that it deserves, but this piece is a challenge to listen to.

February 15 www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000196928 

 "Comment by Nobuyuki Tsujii One year has passed since all concerts in Japan and overseas were canceled or postponed due to the new coronavirus.  In the spring of 2021, the time has finally arrived to resume performances with orchestras. We would like to ask all the visitors to cooperate in measures for controling the spread of the new corona, such as wearing masks and disinfecting, but we would like to share the joy and excitement of music as a whole. See you all in the concert hall with a smile."

Nobu will play Tchai 1 in five Ultimate Concertos performances in March, with conductor Kazuyoshi Akiyama & the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra; and on April 3 at The Pianist Specials  will play Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' with Conductor Kazufumi Yamashita Cand the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Tokyo.

February 15 Someone tweeted: "Nobu-san, have you been playing Lyapunov: 12 Etudes D’exécution Transcendante Op.11? If not so, I would like to listen your play because this work seems to exist for you." I didn't know this work at all, but looked it up on YouTube, and agree that it is tailor made for Nobuyuki Tsujii. See what you think. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAT933QsVFs 

February 14 Instagram from Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii instagram.com/p/CLRXO2fjPWo/%20I   -- exquisite Valentine's Day bouquet, perhaps from her spouse Doctor Tsujii, and/or their son Nobuyuki Tsujii?

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

February 13 News came that a Magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Saturday in Japan near the site of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, almost exactly 10 years later.  No tsunami nor fatalities have been reported, but there are power outages and damages in the affected region.  The earthquake was felt in Tokyo briefly.  We wish safety for everyone. 

Nobuyuki Tsujii is scheduled to appear in a concert hosted by Seiko Watch next month, to commemorate the 2011 Earthquake. 

February 11 A brand new interview with many recent photos.  The article is posted by Japan's SEIKO, Inc., maker of Seiko watches. The corporation is hosting a concert in March to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Eastern Japan Earthquake --  Nobuyuki Tsujii will appear at the concert as a guest performer.  The concert has now sold out on ticket outlet PIA.

The original article, in Japanese, is at https://www.seiko.co.jp/magazine/music/00025.html

An English translation can be found at Seiko Magazine "Passion of Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii"

February 11.  Suntory Hall celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. A  "Sponsored Performance 2021-22 Season Lineup Flyer" has been released.  Among the performances is the ARK Classics Festival headed by @FumiakiMiura & Nobuyuki Tsujii 辻井伸行, October 8 -11.  Details coming in June.  www.suntory.co.jp/suntoryhall/article/detail/000478.html 

February 11 A brand new interview with many recent photos.  The article is posted by Japan's SEIKO, Inc., maker of Seiko watches. The corporation is hosting a concert in March to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Eastern Japan Earthquake --  Nobuyuki Tsujii will appear at the concert as a guest performer.

The original article, in Japanese, is at https://www.seiko.co.jp/magazine/music/00025.html

An English translation can be found at Seiko Magazine "Passion of Pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii"

February 9  Private concert at Suntory Hall

Just happened: A concert by invitation only, with  Schumann-Liszt solo pieces & Chopin piano concerto 1 on the program.  Limited streaming February17 - Feb 23.  More at February 9 2021: Chopin 1 with an orchestra!

I am happy and envious that an event like this can now take place in Japan. I assume that stringent measures were in place for virus control. Cheers for a bold step towards returning to normality! 

February 9 

twitter.com/ebimangetu1221/status/1359054726457774082 This tweeter wrote: ""Today, I'm going to Suntory Hall with an invitation from my elders. Nobuyuki Tsujii's piano solo & Chopin concerto No. 1."  Suntory Hall schedule lists a  "private concert" for Feb 9, a corporate event perhaps? This would be the first orchestral performance for Nobu in a while.  The CEO of Fabric Tokyo Inc also tweeted: "今夜は辻井伸行さんのコンサートへ。行ってきます.[I am going to the concert of Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii tonight.]"

February 6 This just in: Nobuyuki Tsujii is to appear on July 26 at the 2021 Musica Mundi Chamber Music Festival, Belgium. Other artists on the festival program include pianist Grigory Sokolov and violinist Maxim Vengerov. More at Nobuyuki Tsujii at the 2021 Musica Mundi Festival.  details of the performance have yet to be provided.  This appearance comes at the heel of his July 24 Beethoven-Liszt-Chopin recital at the Verbier Festival, so that is likely what Nobu will perform.  

February 6 Post-#COVID concerts dreaming

Where to sit at a Nobuyuki Tsujii concert? A treatise -) Front-row seat?  Balcony seat?  Stage-back seats?  Pros and cons, gotchas.  Yeah, I know we are still in the pandemic, but the vaccines are here, and spring is just around the corner ... Read it here, if you like:  Where to sit at a Nobuyuki Tsujii concert?

February 5 This precious video resurfaced www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULdJ9Gen5Dk -- watch it while you can.  The footage is that of Professor Yukio Yokoyama  giving Nobuyuki Tsujii a master class on playing Chopin's Etude 10-10, when Nobu was a student (2007 - 2011)  at Tokyo's Ueno Music College.  Sadly, for those of us who don't understand spoken Japanese, the dialog is lost (and the auto-translation is useless, understandably). But it is fascinating to see how the professor is able to give instruction on (I believe) playing the piece with accents and colors.  Nobu speaks little, but he reacts quickly to what is said.  Note the cassette recorder on the music rack of Nobu's piano.

February 5 Congratulations to the Liverpool Philharmonic, whose impressive online presence during #COVID has been rewarded with a well deserved £750,000 Culture Fund grant.

Looking forward to their engagements with Nobuyuki Tsujii 辻井伸行 in May! 

February 1 Nobu's rendition of 'Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair' by Stephen Foster is the music chosen for the CM (commercial) for the Grandma Mosses 100 Anniversary Exhibit being held in Japan.  See www.grandma-moses.jp/special/#s2 .  The CM can be viewed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSMBIk8dQB0