Nobuyuki Tsujii, other Cliburn medalists to play in Huntsville

Published: Sunday, April 18, 2010, 7:05 AM

Michael Huebner -- The Birmingham News

One of the most remarkable arts story of 2009 took place in June, when Nobuyuki Tsujii, a 20-year-old, blind-from-birth Japanese pianist, captured the gold medal at one of the world's most prestigious piano competitions, the Van Cliburn International in Fort Worth, Texas. He shared first place honors with Haochen Zhang, an even younger (19) pianist from China. Coming in third was Yeol Eum Son, 23, from Wonju, South Korea.

Tsujii's story, from his early years with his father, a gynecologist, and mother, a former TV anchor, to his rise as a prodigy, naturally created the biggest buzz during the competition. His performances prompted mostly praise, but some criticism, from press and bloggers, along with complaints that the judges should not have awarded dual first prizes. Justified or not, it was hard not to pull for Tsujii, whose chamber music and concerto collaborations were truly remarkable. Nearly a year later, Tsujii is reaping the benefits of his co-victory, which include concert bookings arranged through the Van Cliburn Foundation.

Next weekend, all three medalists from the competition will perform solo recitals within 26 hours at Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntsville, the only venue in the United States to host such an event. The convergence happens once more on June 10 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Winning a Cliburn medal is as much a life-changer as its namesake's victory was at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow 52 years ago, when the 23-year-old Cliburn returned to a ticker tape parade in New York. Open to pianists 30 years old and younger, the Cliburn has helped propel the careers of artists such as Radu Lupu, Andre-Michel Schub, Jeffrey Kahane and Barry Douglas. Former University of Alabama in Huntsville faculty member Yakov Kasman, who now teaches as UAB, took the silver medal in 1997.

Now 21, Tsujii's career is on an upswing as he juggles eight hours of practice per day, classes at Ueno Gakuen University in Tokyo, and concert tours. He has even composed several pieces. His English skills are limited, so at his request we conducted an interview by e-mail. He responded in Japanese from Tokyo.

Through a translator, he described a post-victory life of joy mixed with inconvenience.

"Although my life has become very busy, thanks to opportunities for concerts, it has been fulfilling," he wrote. "I have dreamed about giving recitals in various places internationally since I was a young child. It has been a challenge to secure practice time due to media interviews and concert engagements. I make a conscious effort, not only to expand my repertoire but to keep working on subjects other than music. The only thing I miss is time to meet with my friends as often as I want."

'NOBU FEVER'

Tsujii has become something of a phenomenon in his native country. His fame had started to grow even before the Cliburn, sparked by the Critics Award he received in the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in 2005, but sales of his CDs and DVD spiked following the Cliburn. A November Time magazine article reported about "Nobu fever" in Tokyo.

"When I participated in the Chopin competition, I realized how hard it is to become a professional pianist, but it only fueled me with more aspirations to become one."

That inspiration began much earlier. He was given a toy piano when he was six months old, which led to his first "performance."

"According to my mother, I suddenly started accompanying her humming of 'Jingle Bells,'" Tsujii wrote. "It was Christmas Day and I was 2. My own first memory is when I was 5. We were in Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) on family vacation, and in the shopping mall was the sound of a player piano. As I whined to my parents that I would like to play it, the store owner came to undo the automatic player and let me play it. Before long there was a crowd of people as I played 'Ballade Pour Adeline,' by Richard Clayderman, which was popular then. When I finished, there was a big applause and a lot of people were talking to us. That moment was special for me because I had never played the piano outside my home. Since then it has become a joy to play in public."

At first he learned scores through Braille notation.

"I learned some pieces from such scores," he recalled. "Now I use tapes of music played one hand at a time, with notations by voice."

The method served him well in Fort Worth. He drew the attention of the Cliburn's judges, which included luminaries such as Menachem Pressler, Yoheved Kaplinsky and Michel Beroff, and captured the hearts of audiences at Bass Performance Hall and many more who were glued to the Internet as the Cliburn Foundation streamed the competition live. Most remarkable were his performances of concertos with the Fort Worth Symphony and chamber music with the Takacs Quartet. Such performance relies heavily on sight for precise cues, so what did he use to keep it together?

"I am not aware of anything in particular," he responded. "I am naturally able to stay aligned."

He will not require those particular intuitive powers Saturday in Huntsville, where his program consists of solo works by Chopin, Schumann, Verdi, Liszt and Mussorgsky. Or in Germantown, Tenn., where he repeats the program on April 29.

But he may have to conjure them on Thursday in Jackson, Miss., when he solos in Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Mississippi Symphony. Judging from his interview responses, his blindness has never been an obstacle.

"As I tell people often, I am never bothered by my lack of seeing. I just wish anybody can enjoy the music from the heart."

Michael Huebner is classical music and dance critic and fine arts writer for The Birmingham News. E-mail him at mhuebner@bhamnews.com.

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