Continued from Notable web postings -- August 2020

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

Upcoming Concerts

September 13- 21 Nobuyuki Tsujii 2020 "The Best" Recital Tour , urgently put together in lieu of the Japan Tour with Vasily Petrenko & RLPO. (Tickets for the RLPO performances were selling out when the tour was called off due to the pandemic.) The 6 performances of the "The Best" Recital tour ( Fukuoka, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kanagawa) have sold out. Details at Nobuyuki Tsujii 2020 "The Best" Recital Tour . 

Upcoming media appearances:

Sunday Aug 30 14:00 (Japan time) on the "Oketalk" [Orchestra talk] show of cellist Mari Endo , seen on her YouTube channel .and [I believe] viewable as YouTube video afterward.

Saturday September 5 and Sunday September 12: Asahi TV program "Untitled Concert" Beethoven special. Nobu will discuss and perform Beethoven's major sonatas, including "Moonlight" in full on the 12th.

Saturday September 12: ‪TOKYO FM/FM OH! (radiko)‬ ‘Peace of Mind〜Saturday Mornings with Sarah Àlainn 

NEWS

September 27 I agree with this tweet.   [Translated] "Today's pianists play with arms raised a lot, but that seem to have more to do with visual effect than performance quality. Possibly the dynamics is there to forcibly raise the arms after the fingers separate from the keyboard. But Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii doesn't do that at all, perhaps because he can't see others' performances. I wonder if this has helped to improve the tone." Personally, I dislike pianists with overly dramatic gestures.  Nobu does raise his arms, some times, at the end of a performance with an orchestra.  In recitals, he would stay hunched over the keyboard at the end of a piece, and held the silence for seconds as the audience wait to applaud.

♪ Sept 24 

Suntory Hall Post

https://www.suntory.co.jp/sfa/artkids/detail/8427/ 

"Ark Hills Music festival Oct 2-11: Many free activities. Karajan Square (in front of Suntory Hall). Nobuyuki Tsujii &  Fumiaki Miura Oct 2-4. Our best wishes to the festival and to Nobu & friends."  There will be outdoor viewing of concerts.

Although the world remains in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan has just announced that concerts may be held for capacity audience. More at 2020 Ark Hills Festival.

"The Best" Tour completed with great success.

Tweet by a concert-goer: "Nobuyuki Tsujii THE BEST recital tour completed successfully. Finale September 21 Kawasaki - Encores ♪ Wagner/Liszt: Procession to Elsa's Cathedral ♪ Nobuyuki Tsujii: For the day when we can meet with a smile ♪ Rachmaninoff: Preludes "Bell" ♪ Chopin: Etude Op. 10-4."   This was the first post-COVID live tour of Nobu.  Congratulations!  More at Nobuyuki Tsujii 2020 "The Best" Recital Tour .

nobuyuki_tsujii_official instagram <= click to see a photo & clip of Nobu bowing on stage

"September 13-21, 2020 -- Nobuyuki Tsujii THE BEST Piano Recital'. 

We were able to finish all 6 performances safely. Thank you to everyone who came to Fukuoka, Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka and Kanagawa performances. .We are very happy to have met you with a smile. .We are planning more tours this year, so we look forward to seeing many of you in various places."  For a funny explanation of the clip, please see Nobuyuki Tsujii 2020 "The Best" Recital Tour .

September 22

It has been reported that the 2021  Cliburn International Piano Competition has been postponed to 2022, due to #Covid_19 .  The photo shown with the article is Nobuyuki Tsujii receiving his gold medal from Mr. Van Cliburn in 2009.

September 19

Nostalgic photo posted by someone affiliated with jazz musician Don Friedman (1935-2016).  [Translated] "In November 2002, Don Friedman was on a solo piano tour. I remember booking the venues, such as the Nikko Museum of Art. After the Musashino Swing Hall concert, Nobuyuki Tsujii, then a 14-year-old pianist who was becoming a hot topic as a young talent who will bear the future of the classical music world."   With photo of a young Nobu with his hand stretched out for a handshake, unnoticed by Mr. Friedman.

Sept 18  Today I came upon, much belatedly, an old review that I read for the first time, of the 2013 BBC Proms at which Nobuyuki Tsujii's sensational performance brought down the house.  The review is especially significant now, in light of the report that Nobu was to have made his return performance the BBC Proms this year but for the COVID-19 pandemic.  ""Tsujii’s playing style is very outward, giving a true performance of the piece, and he certainly deserved the standing ovation he got as he was bowing arm in arm with Mena.""

September 17 Tweet by All Nippon Airways, sponsor of the air travels of Nobuyuki Tsujii: [translated]"I took an ANA flight from Fukuoka Airport. I was able to use it with peace of mind because infection control measures were thoroughly implemented everywhere, including when boarding and on board. We will continue to do our best to perform nationwide using ANA!" With photos of Nobu wearing face masks. 

Sept 17 

PR article https://t.co/ZFTX3Vd9bC?amp=1

2020 Ark Hills Music Week at Suntory Hall is kicking off, including Beethoven & Mozart performances by world-renowned Fumiaki Miura & Nobuyuki Tsujii (co-artistic-directors) October 2 through October 4. 

September 16

Instagram by itsuko_tsujii

"14日、15日とサントリーホールにてソロリサイタルが無事終了！social distanceなコンサートでしたが拍手👏はいつも以上に響いておりました。

終演後に親しい友人からサプライズな誕生日パーティーにビックリでした‼️

皆様ありがとうございました✨

#富麗華

The solo recital was successfully completed on the 14th and 15th at Suntory Hall! It was a social distance concert, but the applause 👏 sounded more than usual.

Surprise birthday party from close friends after the performance! ️ (Fumiaki Miura among them]

Thank you everyone."

With a group photo of Nobu (in white long-sleeve shirt) seated between his mother and mother of Fumi, with a elaborate birthday cake in front -- Fumi is among those standing behind them. 

SEPT 14 Nobu is playing some new encore pieces, as revealed by Suntory Hall encore list . Revealing the list is considered a spoiler by some people, so I made a separate post about it -- read if you wish https://mlliu2006.blogspot.com/2020/09/nobuyuki-tsuji-new-encore-pieces.html 

September 13 Looking with envy to people in Fukuoka lining up for the recital of Nobuyuki Tsujii, his sold-out "The Best" tour starts today, his birthday. Concerts have resumed in Japan! Best wishes to Nobu and his loyal fans!   News and comments about the tour performances can be found at mlliu2006.blogspot.com/2020/06/urgently-decided-nobuyuki-tsujii-2020.html

September 13

There is no better birthday present than a beautiful friendship😃

https://twitter.com/SarahAlainn/status/1304928903476047872 <= click to see clip of Ms. Sarah Alainn -- popular Australian-Japanese performer in Japan --  singing happy-birthday to Nobu and presenting him with a birthday cake and flowers👍💐. 

Sept 12 Lots of tweets came up after the second appearance today on "Untitled Concert"; many praises for "Moonlight", performed in full.  Photo source: https://twitter.com/zono_pippi825/status/1304591314672123905  The original title that Nobu gave to the "Moonlight" Sonata, based on his feeling, has generated some discussion.  See Nobuyuki Tsujii on Untitled Concert Sept 5 & 12, 2020

September 11 twitter.com/SarahAlainn/status/1304597319162052608  Nobuyuki Tsujii  received an early birthday cake ("I baked") from his good friend SarahAlainn on her Saturday morning radio show, 2nd appearance in two weeks.💐🎂🙏  Bravo!  This are the cake and flowers mentioned on Instagram by Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii.  "バースデーケーキの製作者はサラ・オレインさん😍サラちゃん心温まるサプライズプレゼントありがとうございました Thank you Sarah for a heartwarming surprise gift "

September 11 A Japanese  twitter just posted a link to this  UNLISTED video posted by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, of a full concert held in the Harpa concert hall Reykjavik, Iceland, on Oct 25 2018. Nobuyuki Tsujii 辻井伸行 with #VladimirAshkenazy, who retired earlier this year, which makes this video extra precious. 

September 10 Instagram from Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii: "In advance of the birthday on the 13th, an artist friend sent flowers and delicious cake made by hand. " Happy 32nd birthday to Nobuyuki Tsujii 辻井伸行! 🎂💐🙏

September 9  A nice tweet from Sandra Roberts of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic: "Today @liverpoolphil should have been @bbcproms with Nobu  - sad our Japan tour is not happening too. But pleased Nobu is doing Tokyo concerts solo recital instead  @SuntoryHallE" With a nice photo of Nobu in performance that I don't recall seeing before. Our best wishes to the orchestra. Please do read the comments to the tweet.  

Upon re-reading the tweet, I realize that she mentioned this: "Today @liverpoolphil should have been BBC Proms with Nobu" ... SO Nobu was to finally make his return performance at the Proms this year -- something that I have been waiting for since 2013! I had no idea that he's to appear in the Proms this year, and now my heart is seriously broken. I wonder what he was to perform -- Rach 3 is my guess, and I would have traveled to UK for that. This is the photo that came with Sandra's tweet, by the way -- Facebook is making it very difficult to choose what photo is to be seen with a post.

UPDATE I have heard from Sandra -- they were to play Rachmaninov Paganini variations  --- aauggghh!!!!!  That scream you heard is mine.

More at Nobuyuki Tsujii was to return to the Proms this year! 

Sept 8  A twitter who was at the 2018 Sweden-Japan 150th anniversary special concert wrote: "【月光余韻】ロイヤル・ストックホルム・フィルハーモニー管弦楽団特別演奏会堪能。私はバイオリンよりヴィオラやチェロの中低音に、より魅かれるようだ。そして辻井伸行氏との競演！素晴らしかった。夢が叶いました。 [Moonlight encore] I enjoyed the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra special concert. I seemed to be more fascinated by the viola and cello  bass than the violin. And co-performance with Nobuyuki Tsujii! It was wonderful. My dream came  true "  Nobu played the "Emperor" concerto with the Royal Stockholm Phil & conductor #SakariOlamo , and finished with an encore of the first mvt of the "Moonlight" sonata. 

Story at Nobuyuki Tsujii performs in Sept 2 Japan-Sweden celebration concert 

September 6 A Japanese backpacker tweeted: "Backpacker a year ago. Armenia is the first country in the world to make Christianity a national religion. After visiting the church in Yerevan, the capital, Nobuyuki Tsujii's concert! Toast with Armenian wine. The most elegant day spent on a trip. " Nobuyuki Tsujii made his Armenia debut on September 6 2019 recital in Yereva." With a photo of Nobu taking a bow on stage, seen from the balcony. 

----

September 6 Typhoon in Japan 

A twitter wrote https://twitter.com/ak5577/status/1302320335375663105 

"Usual preparation for  typhoon is done.

All I have to do is sit home and wait for the typhoon to pass by.

Damage is expected in a wide area this time as well

I sincerely pray for your safety.

Well, to kill time, I watched Nobuyuki Tsujii's piano that happened to be on TV yesterday. I fell in love.

Classical music is also good. "

Our best wishes to Japan for minimum damages from Typhoon Haishen.

September 4

Just announced: An all-Chopin recital tour to take place in December (when Nobuyuki Tsujii would be in New York for his Carnagie Hall recital, if not for COVID-19 )   -- 4 waltzes; 4 ballades -- a barn-busting program! 

Sept 13 UPDATE: 5 Tokyo area performances announced. 

More at Nobuyuki Tsujii Chopin Recital Tour December 2020

September 3 Instagram by Ms. Sarah Àlainn instagram: "Saturday is Nobu’s day!"  - - she mentions appearance of Nobuyuki Tsujii 辻井伸行 on her morning radio show tomorrow (Saturday Sept 5 AND Sept 12 as previously announced). The instagram also mentons Nobu's "Untitled concert" appearance on that day at 10AM. With a nice photo of her & Nobu joining raised hands under a tree in a park. Nobu, with a happy smile, is wearing a long blue cardigan over T-shirt and jeans. Ms. Sarah is likewise wearing a powder-blue long jacket, so I suspect the photo must not be recent, as Japan is in summer. 

twitter.com/lawson_ticket/status/1301846799557120004

■TOKYO FM／FM OSAKA 「Peace of mind〜土曜の朝のサラ・オレイン〜」 ・9/5(土) 8:30〜8:55 O.A ・9/12(土)8:30〜8:55 O.A 

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September 4 2020

NEW on @youTube 辻井伸行さん［ショパンコンクール予備予選］Nobuyuki Tsujii [Chopin Competition preliminary qualification https://youtu.be/bcLau9y_ALg  

辻井さん［ショパンコンクール予備予選］Nobuyuki Tsujii [Chopin Competition preliminary qualifying]

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August 30 Nobuyuki Tsujii on "Orchestra Talk" with cellist Mari Endo can now be watched on YouTube -- and, don't forget, it can be watched with auto-generated subtitles. 

August 30  Nobuyuki Tsujii on "Orchestra Talk" with cellist Mari Endo can now be watched on YouTube .  I watched the video with auto-generated subtitles,  and ... the translation is so bad that it's hilarious!! Don't get me wrong, it is a technical wonder to generate these subtitles, especially for a language as linguistically challenging as Japanese, but it is a long way from us being able to understand what is actually said, and should be taken, at best, as hints!  But, no complaint from me.  It's better than nothing.   I posted a piece about some of the notable moments [that I managed to catch], including when the host and Nobu talk about the size of Nobu's hands -- see my post (with photos) at Nobuyuki Tsujii on "Orchestra Talk" with cellist Maria End

Nobuyuki Tsujii is featured on the long-running TV show 題名のない音楽会  "Daimei" (Untitled concert), on September 5  AND September 12 -- Beethoven 250th birthday special.

The program just posted details, including 4 excellent photos showing Nobu -- in full tux -- in the studio.    In the photos, Nobu looks as boyish as ever, and -- as mentioned by Twitter sunsoon who was his Aug 22 Suntory Hall performance -- he seems to have slimmed down during the quiet time due to the pandemic.    

More at Nobuyuki Tsujii on Untitled Concert Sept 5 & 12

September 1 It was only last year on Dec 15 that Nobuyuki Tsujii made his debut at the renowned Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Sadly, today word came that the  prestigious serie Meesterpianisten has been called off, due to the constraints imposed by #COVID19 🙁 🙁 In the series' announcement, Nobu is listed among the 33-year roll of honour of pianists who have performed for the series.  We wish the organizers the best, and hope to see the series return some day.   Here is a photo of Nobu with esteemed concert organizer Mr. Marco Riaskoff after the concert. We hope a day will come to see this again when the series returns 

September 2 Concerts are indeed back in Japan, with reduced seating and COVID measures in place. Tickets sold out quickly for the 6 recitals on the Nobuyuki Tsujii "The Best" recital tour coming up this month https://mlliu2006.blogspot.com/2020/06/urgently-decided-nobuyuki-tsujii-2020.html But when I took a look on the pia site https://t.pia.jp/pia/artist/artists.do?artistsCd=29140061 today, there are now some tickets available, especially in the most expensive (S seats) category. 

September 3 Instagram by Ms. Sarah Àlainn instagram mentions appearance of Nobuyuki Tsujii 辻井伸行 on her morning radio show tomorrow (Saturday Sept 5, NOT Sept 12 as previously announced). The instagram also mentons Nobu's "Untitled concert" appearance on that day at 10AM. With a nice photo of her & Nobu joining raised hands under a tree in a park. Nobu is wearing a long blue cardigan over T-shirt and jeans. Ms. Sarah is likewise wearing a power-blue long jacket, so I suspect the photo must not be recent, as Japan is in summer.